A plain definition
Filler words (sometimes called filled pauses or hesitation markers) are items like um, uh, and you know that do not add content. They buy time, mark a search for a word, or keep a listener from interrupting.
In conversation they are useful. On a tutorial video they usually are not. “What are filler words?” is mostly asked by students, speakers, and editors who want a list — not a linguistics paper. The short list is on this page so you can see what this tool will mark.
Filled pauses vs hedge phrases
Um and uh are filled pauses: they are almost never real words in the sentence. You know, I mean, kind of, sort of, like, and basically are hedges. Sometimes they are the point of the sentence (“I like this,” “it is kind of blue”).
A dumb delete-all-likes pass wrecks meaning. This tool cuts like and basically only when nearby words show they are hedges, and it always lets you click a word to keep it.
Examples in a sentence
Filled pause: “We should, um, ship on Friday.” The um is not information. Hedge: “It was, like, the only option.” Like is stalling, not a verb. Real word: “I like this mic.” That like stays.
If you are teaching public speaking, count filled pauses separately from hedges. Ums cluster when you fear silence. Likes often cluster when you are hedging a claim. The fix is different even though both get cut in an edit.
- Filled pauses: um, uh, er, ah, hmm
- Hedge phrases: you know, I mean, kind of, sort of
- Context-sensitive: like, basically
- Not fillers: like as a verb, kind of as a color or amount
Removing them from a recording vs stopping in real life
If you already have a take, cut the fillers in the file. That is what the tool on the homepage does. If you want fewer ums next time you speak, recording yourself and listening back is the usual advice — the how-to-stop page walks through that.
Those are different jobs. Do not expect a video editor to train the habit, and do not expect a public-speaking tip to clean last Tuesday’s podcast.
How to use the list on a real file
If you already have a recording, drop it on the homepage tool. The detector uses this same list: filled pauses as tokens, hedges when nearby words show they are hedges, and a click to keep anything that is doing work.
If you are writing a speaking rubric, count um/uh separately from like/you know. Editors cut both. Coaches treat them as different habits. The how-to-stop page is the drill. This page is the glossary.
Filler words and phrases this tool cuts
- um, umm, uhm
- uh, uhh
- er, erm
- ah, eh
- hmm, mm, mmm, mhm, huh
- you know
- I mean
- kind of
- sort of
- like (as a hedge, not “I like this”)
- basically (as a hedge)