fill
Americanverb (used with object)
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fills,
present (3rd person singular)
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filled,
past participle, past
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filling
present participle
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to make full; put as much as can be held into.
to fill a jar with water.
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to occupy to the full capacity.
Water filled the basin.
The crowd filled the hall.
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to supply to an extreme degree or plentifully.
to fill a house with furniture;
to fill the heart with joy.
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to satisfy fully the hunger of; satiate.
The roast beef filled the diners.
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to put into a receptacle.
to fill sand into a pail.
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to be plentiful throughout.
Fish filled the rivers.
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to extend throughout; pervade completely.
The odor filled the room.
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to furnish with an occupant.
The landlord filled the vacancy yesterday.
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to provide (an office or opening) with an incumbent.
The company is eager to fill the controllership.
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to occupy and perform the duties of (a vacancy, position, post, etc.).
They have already found someone to fill the position.
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to supply the requirements or contents of (an order), as for goods; execute.
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to supply (a blank space) with written matter, decorative work, etc.
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to meet satisfactorily, as requirements.
This book fills a great need.
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to make up, compound, or otherwise provide the contents of (a medical prescription).
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to stop up or close (a cavity, hole, etc.).
to fill a tooth.
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Cooking. to insert a filling into.
to fill cupcakes with custard.
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Nautical.
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to distend (a sail) by pressure of the wind so as to impart headway to a vessel.
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to brace (a yard) so that the sail will catch the wind on its after side.
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to adulterate.
to fill soaps with water.
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Civil Engineering, Building Trades. to build up the level of (an area) with earth, stones, etc.
verb (used without object)
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fills,
present (3rd person singular)
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filled,
past participle, past
-
filling
present participle
-
to become full.
The hall filled rapidly.
Our eyes filled with tears.
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to increase in atmospheric pressure.
a filling cyclone.
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to become distended, as sails with the wind.
noun
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a full supply; enough to satisfy want or desire.
to eat one's fill.
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an amount of something sufficient for filling; charge.
The brigade had only one quarter of a fill of fuel.
He begged a fill of tobacco for his pipe.
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Civil Engineering, Building Trades. a quantity of earth, stones, etc., for building up the level of an area of ground.
These houses were built on fill.
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the feed and water in the digestive tract of a livestock animal, especially that consumed before marketing.
verb phrase
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fill out
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to complete (a document, list, etc.) by supplying missing or desired information.
It takes about 35 minutes to fill out the forms for hospital admission.
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to become larger, fuller, or rounder, as the figure.
The children have begun to fill out since I saw them last.
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fill up
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to fill completely.
to fill up a glass;
to fill up a fuel tank.
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to become completely filled.
The riverbed filled up as a result of the steady rains.
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fill in
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to supply missing or desired information.
He suggested you fill in the facts of your business experience.
For each sentence, fill in the blank with the correct word.
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to complete by adding detail, as a design or drawing.
to fill in a sketch with shadow.
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to substitute for.
to fill in for a colleague who is ill.
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to fill with some material.
to fill in a crack with putty.
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Informal. to supply (someone) with information.
Please fill me in on the morning news.
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fill away
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to fall off the wind and proceed on a board.
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to brace the yards, so that sails that have been aback will stand full.
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idioms
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fill and stand on, (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a tack after being hove to or halted facing the wind; fill away.
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fill the bill. bill.
verb
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(also intr) to make or become full
to fill up a bottle
the bath fills in two minutes
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to occupy the whole of
the party filled two floors of the house
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to plug (a gap, crevice, cavity, etc)
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to meet (a requirement or need) satisfactorily
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to cover (a page or blank space) with writing, drawing, etc
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to hold and perform the duties of (an office or position)
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to appoint or elect an occupant to (an office or position)
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building trades to build up (ground) with fill
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(also intr) to swell or cause to swell with wind, as in manoeuvring the sails of a sailing vessel
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to increase the bulk of by adding an inferior substance
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poker to complete (a full house, etc) by drawing the cards needed
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to put together the necessary materials for (a prescription or order)
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informal to serve or perform adequately
noun
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material such as gravel, stones, etc, used to bring an area of ground up to a required level
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the quantity needed to satisfy one
to eat your fill
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fillsimple
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fillssimple
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have filledperfect
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has filledperfect
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am fillingprogressive
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are fillingprogressive
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is fillingprogressive
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have been fillingperfect progressive
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has been fillingperfect progressive
Past
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filledsimple
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had filledperfect
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was fillingprogressive
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were fillingprogressive
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had been fillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fill
First recorded before 900; Middle English fillen, fullen, fellen, Old English fyllan; cognate with German füllen, Gothic fulljan “to make full”; see origin at full 1
Explanation
When you fill something, you add to it until it's full, or has enough. When your car's almost out of gas, you have to fill the tank at a gas station. You can fill a bathtub with hot water and bubbles, but there's also a figurative way to fill: "Scary movies fill me with anxiety," or "Traveling fills me with a sense of adventure." When the smell of chopped raw onions fills the air in your kitchen, your eyes might reflexively fill with tears. When fill is a noun, it means "something that fills a space."
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:
At the EU level, Kallas said the European Defence Agency had mapped all the "critical capabilities" that Europe was missing and that Europe needed to fill these gaps "as soon as possible".
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
I’m curious how you arrived at the length of time he’d fill in for Grace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Who has an army of trolls who fill up her mentions every day with invective.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Pacific Command, which operates thousands of miles from the American mainland, where “Taiwanese production can fill a need that does exist,” said Emeneker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Flopears had only a measly little square of hard salt-and-water corn bread in his pail that wouldn’t fill a wood tick.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Most fellow farmers "think I am crazy", she said, but reviving the land "fills us with joy".
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
In his new book, Kevin Roose fills out an anecdote previously relayed in this column.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The complex fills a city block in the financial district with an office skyscraper, the high-rise Sheraton Grand hotel and a shopping center that is home to a Uniqlo and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Fed by a local river, it fills through the winter and then can be used in the summer.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
And the thought that fills me with a gnawing sense of hope: is Mom serious about taking a trip, just the two of us?
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Verraster had already filled her cars with gas and began preparing what she would grab if the fire kept growing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Endless workout videos making impossible promises filled her feeds.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The narrow stairway was filled with the heavy whirring of gears and joints as the robots steadily lurched upward.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Yvette Kuhns, 58, has brought along a large plastic bin filled with dozens of cardboard signs that she shares with fellow protesters -- people she calls "my family."
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Tansy filled the doorway with a coal oil lamp and her hair down.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
This means hosepipes cannot be used for watering gardens, washing vehicles and windows, and filling pools.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
The Florida product has started every game this season filling in for Tyler Biadasz.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
Now, demographic trends are filling those empty rooms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu set out a timetable on Sunday urging local authorities to prioritise filling gaps left by long-term teacher absences and unfilled posts.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
The greenish-yellow smoke was now visible through the windows, filling the entire cottage.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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