as in substitute
a person or thing that takes the place of another
I'm just a fill-in, so I have no idea where office supplies are kept
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to inform
to give information to
my friend quickly filled me in on the portion of the movie that I had missed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to substitute
to serve as a replacement usually for a time only
she's only filling in while the regular secretary is on vacation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fill-in
Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
Brown, 40, works as a sports reporter for WSOC-Channel 9 in Charlotte, covering all of the local sports teams and occasionally serving as a fill-in anchor on the news desk.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 4 Feb. 2026
Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
But there was more blank space to fill in on Issei’s end, with Season 2 swapping out fantasy sequences in Camille’s mind palace for Issei’s visions of black-and-white moonscapes to that effect.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Noun
Duval County has two lines at early voting sites, one for ExpressVote and the other for a traditional fill-in-the-blanks ballot.
—Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
Brown, 40, works as a sports reporter for WSOC-Channel 9 in Charlotte, covering all of the local sports teams and occasionally serving as a fill-in anchor on the news desk.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
Because of the holiday, some were filling in for others outside of their normal assignments.
—Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
But there was more blank space to fill in on Issei’s end, with Season 2 swapping out fantasy sequences in Camille’s mind palace for Issei’s visions of black-and-white moonscapes to that effect.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fill-in
Noun
-
Perhaps cultural certainty is a poor substitute for epidemiology.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
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Donating blood is one of the of the most powerful ways to give back to the community—there is no substitute for this lifesaving gift and every donation can help save multiple lives.—
Ut Community Press,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
From the haunting coastline of Namibia to off-road adventures in Iceland, let the 13 trips ahead inform your next adventure.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
11 Mar. 2026
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Instead of publishing that letter, Guerra said the state Democratic Party should have gone straight to releasing the VOTER Index and framing it simply as an opportunity to inform voters about the state of the race for governor.—
Linh Tat,
Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Steph’s younger brother stood in the corner, loaded up a shot, and splashed a 3-pointer on his first possession off the bench.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
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Like her structured coat, both pieces stand in opposition to the more dainty, romantic white cotton dress.—
Ana Serrano,
Glamour,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Her replacement outfit was an Alber Elbaz Lanvin pleated knee-length—black and funerary, like the Balenciaga, but much more forgiving.—
Han Ong,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
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Teruaki Sato hit a game-tying RBI double before Shota Morishita, who entered the game as an injury replacement for Seiya Suziki, belted a three-run home run to give Japan a 5-2 lead.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Since childhood, letter writer was told to show up for older siblings who never reciprocated.—
Carolyn Hax,
Washington Post,
16 Mar. 2026
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One of Ghazali's neighbors told The Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the assailant's brother was killed in an airstrike.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Carie Hallford, 48, faced up to 20 years in prison for taking over $130,000 from families for funeral services, including cremations, and often giving them urns full of concrete mix instead.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Mar. 2026
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At the time, the country was in the throes of a political struggle over leadership following the killing, with the interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, initially in charge before his replacement, Ariel Henry, took over.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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To protect these fragile machines, developers are supposed to invest in expensive battery storage or grid backups, ultimately driving up production costs and stalling the transition to affordable green fuel.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Mar. 2026
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There’s another class of quarterbacks who eventually became starters, and that’s guys who were backups for their first three seasons.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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These professionals are responsible for advising farms and agribusinesses on eco-friendly practices.—
Metro Creative Services,
Boston Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
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The agency advised Americans to travel by land to either Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, or Turkey, given that Iraqi airspace is closed at least until Monday.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fill-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fill-in. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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