- present participle of fill.
filling
Americannoun
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an act or instance of filling.
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something that is put in to fill something else.
They used sand as filling for the depression.
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Dentistry. a substance such as cement, amalgam, gold, or the like, used to fill a cavity caused by decay in a tooth.
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a food mixture that goes into something, as if to fill it.
sandwich filling; pie filling.
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Also called pick, weft, woof. Textiles. yarn carried by the shuttle and interlacing at right angles with the warp in woven cloth.
noun
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the substance or thing used to fill a space or container
pie filling
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dentistry
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any of various substances (metal, plastic, etc) for inserting into the prepared cavity of a tooth
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the cavity of a tooth so filled
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textiles another term for weft
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of filling
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at fill, -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The cost of filling up at the gas station is not the only problem, either.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
“This is normal good governance practice for filling a critical position at a highly regulated and complex global institution, even when there’s an internal candidate.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The firm partially put this down to more water being used for activities including watering gardens and filling paddling pools.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Smoked stuffed peppers are another great option: Prepare the par-cooked rice-and-meat filling ahead, smoke a few tomatoes for the sauce, then let everything finish together while you mingle.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
The mist thickened around them, filling their mouths and noses with the taste and smell of the bog.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
UV light is used for air purification, curing resins in 3D printing, hardening gels in dental fillings, and even applications such as nail treatments.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
They agreed to pay half a cent more at the cash register to fund buses, trains and pothole fillings in 2016.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Founded in Woodstock, N.Y., in 2021, Moonrise makes bagels stuffed with fillings like tomato sauce and cheese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
Different procedures - fillings, extractions and more complicated work - are assigned a different number of UDAs.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025
“Well, carry on. Three fillings, and they’ve all come out now. Carrie sent me to the man. Said he was a good dentist—hah!”
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
