How to Use fill-in in a Sentence

fill-in

1 of 2 noun
  • The good news: He’s played the role of fill-in to some success this season already.
    Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 7 Aug. 2023
  • The reason: He’s simply outplayed Josh Smith, who was the Rangers’ first choice as a fill-in.
    Evan Grant, Dallas News, 3 May 2023
  • Since the thought really does count more than the gifts, have your student fill out the prompts in this fill-in-the-blank book.
    Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 31 Mar. 2023
  • There will be an assortment of fill-in hosts for Sandler on the pre- and post-game shows.
    Evan Grant, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023
  • Meanwhile, House Democrats have their own set of requirements for the fill-in.
    Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2023
  • The fill-in turned out to be the clairvoyant’s former classmate.
    J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024
  • Yet, Paul Duffy was an excellent fill-in on bass and vocals at the Warfield.
    Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2024
  • Gavin Stone has stepped up in a big way and Landon Knack has proven to be more than capable in a fill-in role.
    Bill Plunkett, Orange County Register, 1 July 2024
  • Duthiers, who has worked as a correspondent and fill-in on the program since 2019, has seen his role grow over time.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 27 Mar. 2023
  • As the ceremony began, the fill-in DJs could not figure out how to work the equipment and get the music to play.
    Erin Clack, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
  • For a new set of lash extensions, the process will last about 30 minutes and for fill-ins, only 20 minutes.
    India Espy-Jones, Essence, 23 Aug. 2023
  • Even some fill-in duty as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter the last couple days, while Mookie Betts was away for the birth of his child.
    Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Bruce Bochy said Josh Smith, who started five games there last year as a rookie, will be the primary fill-in.
    Evan Grant, Dallas News, 13 Apr. 2023
  • Savarese said Diego Gutierrez, who came on as a second-half substitute, could play more in a fill-in role.
    oregonlive, 27 Feb. 2023
  • The stand-up and roast dais veteran revealed to fill-in Jimmy Kimmel Live!
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 12 July 2024
  • Mekari can play anywhere along the line, which is one of the reasons the Ravens would prefer to keep him in his usual rotational fill-in role.
    Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 21 July 2024
  • For years, Groff was a fill-in mail carrier who worked on days when other mail carriers were off.
    Jessica Gresko, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2023
  • Thursday marks the first major test for the All-Stars' fill-ins to make an impact at the major league level, with first pitch against the White Sox slated for 6:08 p.m. central.
    Michael Shapiro, Chron, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Then the rookie who the establishment overlooked impressed by winning his first game as a fill-in starter.
    Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2023
  • With a group of mostly fill-in starters unable to shoulder the load that was expected to be carried by their stars, the Yankees and the Mets have combined to start the season 33-31.
    Benjamin Hoffman, New York Times, 4 May 2023
  • Reddish has received a pretty good look through seven games, even grabbing a couple of fill-in starts.
    Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023
  • Practice squad fullback Jason Cabinda also can play as a fill-in tight end.
    Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Until then, low-scoring games will likely be the norm along with hoping the fill-ins can contribute along with the healthy regulars.
    Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 3 May 2023
  • The most logical candidate is core special-teams player Oren Burks, who made three fill-in starts last year.
    Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2023
  • The current collection of receivers has done a pretty respectable job in the absence of Kupp and Nacua, but none of those fill-ins strike fear in opponents.
    Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
  • Loud and clear The names painted on the Los Angeles skyscrapers are the faster and easier-to-complete fill-ins, since time is at a premium and the artists risk arrest.
    Colette Gaiter, The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2024
  • Harlow will be joined by fill-in hosts until a permanent replacement for Collins is named.
    Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
  • Their healthy fill-in options include Luis Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2023
  • And so far Cody Poteet (signed as a free agent in January after being released by the Royals) has done an excellent job as a fill-in starter.
    Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 15 June 2024
  • Even in places where fill-in programming performed reasonably well, the gaps are noticeable.
    Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
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fill in

2 of 2 verb
  • If not, a quick trip to the store will fill in the gaps.
    Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2023
  • The next step is filling in all the pieces in the middle.
    Matt Cohen | McOhen@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2023
  • But that said, there will be voids to fill in the room.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 26 June 2024
  • There's a lot of time to fill in between the break-up and that night.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2024
  • The goal is to get a range; your design team should be able to fill in the blanks.
    Laura Fenton, House Beautiful, 1 Dec. 2022
  • There are nearly 200 years’ worth of blanks to fill in.
    Joey Morona, cleveland, 19 Aug. 2022
  • Every Don has been forced to step up to fill in for Blyashov.
    Terry Monahan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Nov. 2022
  • Friends like Chad Carter, a groomsman, have helped to fill in the blanks.
    Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024
  • But in this case, Josh Smith is around to fill in as the backup shortstop.
    Dallas News, 6 Mar. 2023
  • The old pool was filled in with concrete to make way for more apartments.
    Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024
  • Determined to fill in the gaps, the team started the study about 18 months ago.
    Lesley M.m. Blume, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023
  • Don’t dig farther than waist-deep—and fill in your hole when you’re done.
    Eileen Finan, Peoplemag, 31 May 2024
  • Bram van den Berg is filling in for Larry at the shows.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Throughout Edey’s stint on the bench in the first half, Kaufman-Renn filled in at center.
    The Indianapolis Star, 6 Jan. 2024
  • These plants take up space and expand to fill in garden holes.
    Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 7 Aug. 2024
  • Thanks to Sara Ganim for filling in for me these past few shows.
    Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 1 July 2024
  • Put about two tablespoons of filling in the center, and brush the edges of the dough with egg.
    Anna Theoktisto, Southern Living, 18 Sep. 2023
  • In the game, a user is presented with a grid, and a few squares are filled in with a sun or a moon.
    Jordan Novet, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2024
  • But if anything goes wrong, that extra acre is there to fill in the gaps.
    Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 7 Feb. 2023
  • But the Wildcats have options to fill in for as long as Rodriguez is gone.
    Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 3 Sep. 2022
  • The choice of Stone to fill in for Williams was as much about fit as anything Hamilton did or did not do.
    Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2022
  • By nature of the TV show format, there is more for viewers to fill in on their own.
    Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Dec. 2022
  • Choose a container with drainage holes and use a good potting mixture to fill in around the plant.
    Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 11 Sep. 2023
  • The gigantic part got filled in later, at least for me.
    Jordan Hoffman, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 July 2024
  • But the timeline of both events weren’t clear, leaving spectators to fill in the gaps on their own.
    Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2024
  • Keller saw time on a line with Ritchie and Barrett Hayton to fill in for Kassian.
    Jenna Ortiz, The Arizona Republic, 1 Nov. 2022
  • If necessary, use some of the leftover phyllo to fill in any gaps.
    Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Corden was scheduled to host his show on the night of her birth, but asked friend Harry Styles to fill in at the last minute.
    Jacqueline Weiss, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2022
  • The trench blocking her entrance, which was filled in later that day, was one of several disruptions that cost her business.
    Steph Solis, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Its formula, packed with growth-stimulating biotin and peptides, worked hard to stimulate her scalp and boost density from the roots, which filled in her patchy spots and amped up her volume.
    Alyssa Brascia, People.com, 29 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fill-in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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