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 On Saturday, freshman Vlad Dyakonov took center stage filling in for the injured Paige. — Sean Campbell, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 Kansas Athletics on Tuesday released tip times and television networks for the 2026-27 men’s basketball schedule, filling in details missing when the slate was announced weeks ago. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026 At the age of sixteen, Renée was able to reunite with her parents in the United States and found employment as a comics artist, filling in for the many male artists drafted into service. — Gaby Iori october 7, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026 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
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
  • The White House press office sent letters to the news organizations on September 22, informing them of the reasons and their ability to contest the action, but that was four days after the ban was implemented.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Even her good friend Gizelle knew, and chose to gossip with Ashley instead of privately informing Tia off camera.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of informing
Verb
  • An American citizen was among the dead, prompting Secretary of State Marco Rubio to make a statement standing in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 12 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of standing in
Verb
  • In July, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham brought the debate to the WNBA, telling ESPN trans women shouldn’t be allowed to play in the league.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Firms in Riyadh were telling their employees to work from home tomorrow, and people have been spooked for weeks.
    — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 10 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
  • The indictment alleges that both men oversaw the dogs, with Stinson advising his son on their proper care.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Barker recalled giving a mutual guy friend some dating advice about just having fun and hooking up with women, advising him to think of dating as a sport, while trying to not get too emotionally invested.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 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
  • There’s no question age is catching up with Yelich, who has two years left on his contract.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Recent studies have also found that China leads, or is catching up quickly, in many of these technologies.
    — DAVID S. COHEN, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of catching up
Verb
  • Paramount is taking over the Bay Theater, the long-shuttered cinema at Palisades Village formerly leased by Netflix, adding to a wave of revivals of dormant movie theaters across Los Angeles.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Along with first-run movies and classics, the Bay will host special screenings and immersive theatrical experiences, said Paramount, which is taking over the theater formerly operated by Netflix and Cinepolis before that.
    — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of taking over

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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 18 Oct. 2026.

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