Filler Meaning
/ˈfɪləː/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounOne who fills.
nounSomething added to fill a space or add weight or size.
Sentence Examples
Try not to use too many filler words.
There is a lot of filler, but not much substance, in this essay.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The pillow was stuffed with soft plastic ____ to make it comfortable.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The contractor used a special ____ to close the small cracks in the wall before applying the paint.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English fill Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English filler From fill + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They commonly have three, four, five, or six hewers or diggers, to four fillers, so as to keep the fillers always at work."
— 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
"I recommend this album in the face of the fact that five of the eleven songs are the purest filler, dull instrumentals with a harmonica rifling over an indifferent rhythm section. The rest is magnificent[…]"
— 1977, Stereo Review, volume 38, page 70:
"A 50-year-old patient will come in, and suddenly, she’s super-skinny and needs filler, which she never needed before."
— 2023 January 24, Amy Synnott, quoting Dr. Frank, “Those Weight Loss Drugs May Do a Number on Your Face”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2023:
"The word "filler" is taboo in the excipient world."
— 2014 April, Ken Seufert, “The New Dawn of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Innovative Solutions for Unprecedented Challenges”, in American Pharmaceutical Review, 17(3):9:
"'Tis a meer filler; to ſtop a vacancy in the Hexameter, and connect the Preface to the Work of Virgil."
— 1697, Virgil, “Dedication”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The pillow was stuffed with soft plastic ____ to make it comfortable.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The contractor used a special ____ to close the small cracks in the wall before applying the paint.