fill in the blanks
idiom
1
: to put information into blank spaces : to provide missing information
Please fill in the blanks on the questionnaire.
—sometimes used figurativelyAt the end of the movie, the narrator goes back and fills in (all) the blanks.
2
: to provide one's own conclusion
He would not tell me the whole story of the argument, and I was left to fill in the blanks for myself.
Examples of fill in the blanks in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Scenes staged with action figures offer a visual component to fill in the blanks, as do the quick news montages that announce key years.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2023
While only three ingredients written on a notecard are shown in the series, the internet was able to fill in the blanks and recreate the dish.
—Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Feb. 2023
With her executive scheduler and an aide standing nearby to fill in the blanks, Levy outlined the stops from a recent Saturday in Tolland, Enfield, Rocky Hill, Prospect, Litchfield and Vernon before returning home to Greenwich.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 30 Oct. 2022
The episode doesn’t fill in the blanks on why Sophie and her husband divorced.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2022
The strategy’s vagueness allowed policymakers to fill in the blanks with appropriate adaptations.
—Jordan Michael Smith, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2022
This new holiday special draws on the 1818 book by E.T.A. Hoffmann to fill in the blanks with story details missing from Tchaikovsky’s ballet, including how the character of the Prince got turned into a nutcracker in the first place.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2021
Print out the card and have each kid fill in the blanks, or ask younger kids the questions and record their answers.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 May 2023
That will prompt the office to follow up to help each author fill in the blanks in an application.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 16 Mar. 2023
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2023
While only three ingredients written on a notecard are shown in the series, the internet was able to fill in the blanks and recreate the dish.
—Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Feb. 2023
With her executive scheduler and an aide standing nearby to fill in the blanks, Levy outlined the stops from a recent Saturday in Tolland, Enfield, Rocky Hill, Prospect, Litchfield and Vernon before returning home to Greenwich.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 30 Oct. 2022
The episode doesn’t fill in the blanks on why Sophie and her husband divorced.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2022
The strategy’s vagueness allowed policymakers to fill in the blanks with appropriate adaptations.
—Jordan Michael Smith, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2022
This new holiday special draws on the 1818 book by E.T.A. Hoffmann to fill in the blanks with story details missing from Tchaikovsky’s ballet, including how the character of the Prince got turned into a nutcracker in the first place.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2021
Print out the card and have each kid fill in the blanks, or ask younger kids the questions and record their answers.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 May 2023
That will prompt the office to follow up to help each author fill in the blanks in an application.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 16 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fill in the blanks.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fill in the blanks
Cite this Entry
“Fill in the blanks.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fill%20in%20the%20blanks. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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