How to Use fill-in in a Sentence

fill-in

1 of 2 noun
  • The next-best fill-in might be White.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
  • For now, Sturm will ask more of his fill-in centers.
    — Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Jennings was brought off the practice squad as a fill-in.
    — Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Tagovailoa could be more than a fill-in for Penix.
    — CBS News, 27 May 2026
  • At times, fill-in left tackle Justin Skule was sideswiped.
    — Jenna West, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Quinn has been the fill-in coach for games when Spoelstra has not be available.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 1 June 2025
  • That’s a whole lot of torque fill-in at launch and into the lower and middle rev range.
    — Mark Ewing, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Last year’s fill-in right guard, Jake Curhan, is also unsigned.
    — Mike Kaye updated May 20, Charlotte Observer, 20 May 2026
  • The fill-in turned out to be the clairvoyant’s former classmate.
    — J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024
  • That’s because the players who have been called up as fill-ins for the injured also were on the ice.
    — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2026
  • 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
  • Christensen has been awesome in his fill-in duty for Robert Hunt.
    — Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Then there are the fill-ins from Triple-A who pop up regularly.
    — Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Mar. 2026
  • 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
  • Bruce Pearl the fill-in College coaches have to get their start somewhere.
    — John Raby, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Coleman returned to the lineup over the next two weeks as a fill-in for an injured Palmer.
    — Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Part of Torre loved being a fill-in, riding the wave of success that others had built.
    — Zak Keefer, New York Times, 30 May 2025
  • Cousins is a great fill-in candidate for those who lost Patrick Mahomes.
    — Kc Joyner, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025
  • Meanwhile, House Democrats have their own set of requirements for the fill-in.
    — Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2023
  • As of now, the Finns appear to be the country most likely to need at least one injury fill-in.
    — Chris Johnston, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Young also had a fill-in right guard, Jake Curhan, play the bulk of the first half and finish out the game.
    — Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
  • How many of us willingly fill-in surveys, even when they are described as legally required?
    — Vipin Bharathan, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
  • 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
  • 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
  • But the 27-year-old has never been more than a fill-in and will now be a UFA.
    — Eric Stephens, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • The 26-year-old has done well as an injury fill-in before, but he’s shown to be deserving of more work.
    — Eric Stephens, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Yet, Paul Duffy was an excellent fill-in on bass and vocals at the Warfield.
    — Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2024
  • Then the rookie who the establishment overlooked impressed by winning his first game as a fill-in starter.
    — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 27 Oct. 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
  • Practice squad fullback Jason Cabinda also can play as a fill-in tight end.
    — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 24 Jan. 2024

fill in

2 of 2 verb
  • Schmidt then fills in the blanks.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
  • There are few blanks to fill in.
    — Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, Mercury News, 1 June 2026
  • The state wants to fill in the pass.
    — Jack Prator, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
  • The sea is gone, filled in with land.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Who fills in for him was not clear pregame.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2026
  • Or … or … or … (fill in the blank).
    — Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The new study helps fill in some of those gaps.
    — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The present-day scenes fill in some of the blanks.
    — John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2026
  • Michelle Buteau came out to fill in.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 13 May 2026
  • But our lineup filled in the gap.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Could urgent care help fill in the gap?
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
  • That’s a pretty big hole to fill in.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Cheney helped fill in the gaps.
    — Susan Page, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Three hundred seats, filled in a flash.
    — Yuki Tejima august 26, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Crum has filled in at both tackle spots, too.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
  • Parade has tried to fill in some of the blanks.
    — Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Backfill around the tree with soil and fill in any gaps.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Backfill around the tree with soil and fill in any gaps.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Water the ground, then add more soil to fill in around the plant.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 14 May 2026
  • And then Kittle helped fill in the blanks.
    — Noah Furtado, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Just splash on some powder, fill in the brows, and call it a day!
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The Heizer sort of fills in for the obelisk.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026
  • There's a lot of time to fill in between the break-up and that night.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2024
  • Don’t dig farther than waist-deep—and fill in your hole when you’re done.
    — Eileen Finan, Peoplemag, 31 May 2024
  • The government needs a way to fill in the gaps.
    — Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Set the entire pot in the hole and fill in any space around the pot with soil.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Meanwhile, the rest of cast is pretty much filled in.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2026
  • This section will be filled in once the game begins.
    — American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 7 Feb. 2026
  • These plants take up space and expand to fill in garden holes.
    — Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 7 Aug. 2024
  • The rest is left for Berry to fill in with the right guys at the right price.
    — Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 18 Feb. 2022

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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