filling in

verb

present participle of fill in
1
as in informing
to give information to my friend quickly filled me in on the portion of the movie that I had missed

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in standing in
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of filling in Raster graphics, on the other hand, create pictures by filling in a grid of tiny pixels, an approach that was less suited to drawing the crisp lines needed to create this kind of perspective. — Mark J. P. Wolf, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026 While filling in for Green Bay starter Jordan Love last season, Willis completed 7 of 7 passes that traveled at least 20 air yards for 230 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2026 The shampoo gently dissolves daily build-up, filling in cracks of damage to leave hair healthy, soft and supple while the rich, luxurious conditioner helps bring damaged hair back to life. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026 The fund now focuses on creating new programs to rethink rural health, instead of filling in financial gaps. — Daniel Payne, STAT, 14 Sep. 2026 Mykolenko was filling in as the right-back because of a move Rashford started. — Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 As the sneaker’s nickname suggests, a dark green is the highlight color, filling in the jagged midsole, Jumpman badge and suede heel hit. — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026 LaNeve, who is filling in as the Army’s top uniformed officer, recently ordered the battalion to refocus on its core mission of being an airborne infantry unit. — Konstantin Toropin, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026 Jelly Roll shared his thoughts on Dolly Parton while filling in as guest host on Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for filling in
  1. informing
  2. standing in
  3. telling
  4. substituting
  5. advising
  6. stepping in
  7. catching up
  8. taking over
Verb
  • There’s a slapstick nature to that place where there’s just stuff, and all the stuff is informing this great desire to just try things.
    — Christine Werthman, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2026
  • These innovations point towards a future where transformers assist patients in informing them of risks with different types of medications.
    — Esha Desai, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of informing
Verb
  • Long decided to show Carl standing in a spotlight, wearing white boxers with red hearts, shielding Princess Donut.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The film will shoot on location in New York City (for sequences chronicling her arrival by ship and her Broadway musicals), the Brazilian city of Maricá (standing in for Los Angeles) and Rio.
    — Marcelo Cajueiro, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of standing in
Verb
  • The Salem witch trials of 1692 carved out an enduring and powerful niche in American history for this little town, and this intimate, kitschy museum does an excellent job telling the story.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The discovery is the latest instance of CDE leadership telling employees bedbugs are not in the building, only for more to be discovered at a later date and igniting doubt among CDE’s workforce on whether treatment is effective.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of telling
Verb
  • That difference means substituting one for the other can change a dish’s character considerably.
    — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The work demonstrates a way to combine a renewable waste material with nanoscale reinforcement rather than simply substituting one material for another.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of substituting
Verb
  • Licensing and brand consultancy Black White Orange (BWO) is handling fan engagement, consumer experiences and promotional activations, and Happening 365 Synergies is advising on strategy and the market.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But as systems move from advising to acting, judgment becomes the differentiator.
    — Puneet Gaur, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of advising
Verb
  • While stepping in as press secretary, Vance responded to a question from the Washington Examiner about 2028 hopefuls, such as Cruz and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, by telling Republicans to focus on the midterm elections.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Whenever either of them is absent, Estevao is very capable of stepping in.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of stepping in
Verb
  • Open models offer another option, and their capabilities are catching up.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 24 Sep. 2026
  • As Sean will lay out below, there is a fundamental story here that is catching up to what the chart has been saying for months.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of catching up
Verb
  • Soon after taking over the presidency, Bolsonaro cut the budgets for the National Cinema Agency (ANCINE) and the Audiovisual Sector Fund (FSA) by nearly 43%.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The county’s options for the facility range from holding Discovery Place in default and taking over the nature museum to accepting Discovery Place’s terms and giving the organization decades to repay the debt, staff said.
    — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of taking over

Browse Nearby Words

filling
filling in
filling (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Filling in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/filling%20in. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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