- present participle of fill.
filling
Americannoun
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fillings
plural
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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:
A three-part podcast series about how AI mental-health chatbots are filling the rising demand for therapy, and the risks they may bring with them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
I’m filling in for Ian today, so let’s take a break from the usual ignominies we cover on the Slatest to talk about something completely different.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
By filling the long-standing 80 million-year hexapod gap, the work pushes the early diversification of insects back from the Late Carboniferous into the Early Devonian.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
With Dolly Parton's "Jolene" filling the night air, fans of the late country music icon laid flowers at a Tennessee statue of the singer who changed their US state forever.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
After these carriage rides, bouquets of “the richest and rarest” flowers arrived for Maggie, their seductive scent filling the bridal suite.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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
Cancer treatment and osteoporosis had damaged her teeth, leaving her with six lost fillings and toothache.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
Nori should stay crisp, which makes this a fantastic interactive dinner-party setup: lay out the fillings, rice, and sheets of nori, and let everyone build as they go.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
Either the quote was spurious or misremembered, or Bobby was joshing the reporter who recorded it, because the truth is that he had the fillings removed for what he believed was a legitimate health reason.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
