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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 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 Is Barron capable of filling in if Patrick Surtain II or Moss miss time, which has happened each of the last two seasons? — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2026 The comedian, who is filling in for vacationing host Jimmy Kimmel, reflected back on her stint from 1996-2002 on her own talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, in her first monologue of the week. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 18 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
  • But in order to disguise what is afoot, in a party-line vote in both houses of the General Assembly, Democrats prescribed the precise language that must appear on the ballot informing the voters what Question 3 will do, if passed.
    — Chris West, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Human rights groups and United Nations officials have accused the Syrian government of widespread abuses in its detention facilities, including torture and arbitrary detention of thousands of people, in many cases without informing their families.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of informing
Verb
  • Getty Images Most Popular Harrow is also a Hollywood favorite, used as a filming location in The Crown (standing in for Eton, its longtime rival) and doubling for Cambridge’s Trinity College in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything.
    — Ashley Baker, Vanity Fair, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman has returned to Chicago a day after being hit in the face by a foul ball while standing in front of the on-deck circle during a road game against the Cincinnati Reds.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of standing in
Verb
  • Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued warnings to residents of Riyadh and the surrounding area early Saturday, telling people to remain indoors because of an aerial threat.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2026
  • These illnesses often begin with symptoms that look very similar, so telling them apart can be tricky – especially when the beginning of cold and flu season in the fall can be the tail end of summer seasonal allergies.
    — Ann Sheehan, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of telling
Verb
  • 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
  • In fact, substituting toys for all hazards and unwanted behaviors are excellent protective measures.
    — Emily Tarinelli, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of substituting
Verb
  • So was this saint advising people to think about work and time, or to work tempestuously, or possibly both?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Watts is now the associate director for policy advocacy for the California Housing Partnership, a nonprofit focused on advising agencies with affordable housing initiatives.
    — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 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
  • Uline, a box and packaging company based in Kenosha County, is taking over for Motorola placing its logo on every Bucks jersey in the 2026-27 season.
    — Ricardo Torres, jsonline.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • In the long history of artists taking over spaces that once housed the creation of deadly weapons—the Park Avenue Armory in New York, the Arsenale in Venice—Da Corte’s studio was a cannonball factory during the Civil War.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 22 Sep. 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 26 Sep. 2026.

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