1
as in loading
to put into (something) as much as can be held or contained
fill the basket with apples
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in packing
to close up so that no empty spaces remain
before starting to paint, fill all the cracks with putty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fulfilling
to do what is required by the terms of
orders received by this date will be filled in time for Christmas delivery of the merchandise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of filling
Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
Spicy poke can be used as a dip, spread, or a filling for sushi because the fish is cut into small dices (and can even be minced if preferred).
—Stella Fong, Outside, 10 Mar. 2026
Sanjay Srivastava, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
But this is not about deciding the town's next mayor or filling a seat in a national legislature.
—ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for filling
Noun
Investigators also noticed that the filling and draining of the heater-cooler devices was being done inside the operating room, and water was seen on the operating room floor due to overflow of the units or to the change in tubing.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
Spicy poke can be used as a dip, spread, or a filling for sushi because the fish is cut into small dices (and can even be minced if preferred).
—Stella Fong, Outside, 10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Automation could help at the margins — routing requests, pre-filling forms, or suggesting knowledge-base articles — but the core work still had to be done by people.
—Sanjay Srivastava, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Verb
Even for voters who rarely care about foreign policy, the rising cost of filling up their tank has been unavoidable.
—Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
But this is not about deciding the town's next mayor or filling a seat in a national legislature.
—ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for filling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for filling
Noun
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Teacher morale is increasingly important as states continue to struggle with teacher shortages, especially in hard-to-fill jobs like special education, science, technology, math, engineering and bilingual education.—
Diana Lambert,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Lately, getting a fair fill on ATM strikes for ETFs like USO has become notoriously difficult.—
Nishant Pant,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Aramco has been redirecting oil cargoes to Red Sea facilities on Saudi Arabia’s west coast to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, with eight supertankers loading from the area this month.—
Christine Burke,
Bloomberg,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Yes, blueberries are great, but the key isn’t loading up on a single fruit.—
Lynn Andriani,
Martha Stewart,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Laundry Detergent Sheets Part of what makes believing in the power of carry-on packing only for longer trips difficult is the challenge of having clean clothes.—
Kristin Braswell,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Fill the hole gently, without packing the soil tightly around the roots.—
Holly McNamara,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While fulfilling a longtime neoconservative dream, this war is the latest assault on the constitutional order.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Christine describes a calm, easy, fulfilling, and passionate love.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Buchanan, unaware of the extent of Mayne’s star power, picked up the roughly 6-foot-4 Pritzker Prize-winner from the airport, cramming him into her Nissan Sentra.—
Trevor Bach,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Mar. 2026
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Cars registered to the UAE were not being allowed over the border, which led to Heliövaara moving his two children’s car seats as the desert sun beat down, as well as the five people plus six bags eventually cramming into one car.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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No one in my generation remembers the huge labor force of switchboard operators, but in the 1950s there were 340,000 workers physically plugging cords into jacks to connect callers to one another (roughly equivalent to the number of dental assistants today).—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
11 Mar. 2026
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Anthropic’s Claude Cowork has quickly taken off in the enterprise by plugging into more applications.—
Katie Tarasov,Ari Levy,
CNBC,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Its psychedelic interludes exist to snap back into satisfying rhythms.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Blending helps turn veggies and stock into a surprisingly thick and satisfying soup.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In its all-too-human view of life, this is, entertainingly, whatever the opposite of a cloying graduation speech is.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Plus, the jojoba oil gives it a light, inoffensive smell that’s heavenly to inhale compared to the strong, cloying scents of other men’s products.—
Irene Richardson,
InStyle,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Filling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/filling. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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