a person or thing that fills in, as a substitute, replacement, or insertion.
The company used a fill-in for workers on vacation.
a brief, informative summary; a rundown.
(tr) to complete (a form, drawing, etc)
(intr) to act as a substitute
a girl is filling in while the typist is away
(tr) to put material into (a hole or cavity), esp so as to make it level with a surface
informal (tr) to inform with facts or news
slang (tr) to attack and injure severely
a substitute
informal a briefing to complete one's understanding
Complete something, especially by supplying more information or detail. For example, Be sure to fill in your salary history . It is also put as fill in the blanks , as in We'll rely on Mary to fill in the blanks . Yet another related usage is fill someone in , as in I couldn't attend, so will you fill me in? The first term dates from the mid-1800s; the others from the first half of the 1900s. Also see fill out .
Also, fill in for . Take someone's place, substitute for. For example, The understudy had to fill in at the last minute , or I can't come but my wife will fill in for me . Also see fill someone's shoes .
First recorded in 1915–20; noun use of verb phrase fill in
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fill in intermittently for the starters or the second string during practice when they need a break.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 12, 2024
Fill in the blank: “I am _____.” How you answer can reveal where you’re from.
From New York Times • Jun. 4, 2023
Once a month, I write another "Dear Sugar" column, and I'm still constantly thinking, "Well, how can I help this person who's asking a question about . . .?" Fill in the blank.
From Salon • Apr. 15, 2023
Fill in the blanks on the graph with the areas, the upper and lower limits of the confidence interval, and the sample mean.
From Textbooks • Mar. 27, 2020
Fill in the second note of the interval indicated in each measure.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
