fill
to make full; put as much as can be held into: to fill a jar with water.
to occupy to the full capacity: Water filled the basin.The crowd filled the hall.
to supply to an extreme degree or plentifully: to fill a house with furniture;to fill the heart with joy.
to satisfy fully the hunger of; satiate: The roast beef filled the diners.
to put into a receptacle: to fill sand into a pail.
to be plentiful throughout: Fish filled the rivers.
to extend throughout; pervade completely: The odor filled the room.
to furnish with an occupant: The landlord filled the vacancy yesterday.
to provide (an office or opening) with an incumbent: The company is eager to fill the controllership.
to occupy and perform the duties of (a vacancy, position, post, etc.): They have already found someone to fill the position.
to supply the requirements or contents of (an order), as for goods; execute.
to supply (a blank space) with written matter, decorative work, etc.
to meet satisfactorily, as requirements: This book fills a great need.
to make up, compound, or otherwise provide the contents of (a medical prescription).
to stop up or close (a cavity, hole, etc.): to fill a tooth.
Cooking. to insert a filling into: to fill cupcakes with custard.
Nautical.
to distend (a sail) by pressure of the wind so as to impart headway to a vessel.
to brace (a yard) so that the sail will catch the wind on its after side.
to adulterate: to fill soaps with water.
Civil Engineering, Building Trades. to build up the level of (an area) with earth, stones, etc.
to become full: The hall filled rapidly.Our eyes filled with tears.
to increase in atmospheric pressure: a filling cyclone.
to become distended, as sails with the wind.
a full supply; enough to satisfy want or desire: to eat one's fill.
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.
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.: Compare backfill (def. 1).
the feed and water in the digestive tract of a livestock animal, especially that consumed before marketing.
fill away, Nautical.
to fall off the wind and proceed on a board.
to brace the yards, so that sails that have been aback will stand full.
fill in,
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.
to complete by adding detail, as a design or drawing: to fill in a sketch with shadow.
to substitute for: to fill in for a colleague who is ill.
to fill with some material: to fill in a crack with putty.
Informal. to supply (someone) with information: Please fill me in on the morning news.
fill out,
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.
to become larger, fuller, or rounder, as the figure: The children have begun to fill out since I saw them last.
fill up,
to fill completely: to fill up a glass;to fill up a fuel tank.
to become completely filled: The riverbed filled up as a result of the steady rains.
Idioms about fill
fill and stand on, Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a tack after being hove to or halted facing the wind; fill away.
fill the bill. bill1 (def. 16).
Origin of fill
1Other words for fill
Other words from fill
- fill·a·ble, adjective
- half-filled, adjective
- un·filled, adjective
- well-filled, adjective
Words Nearby fill
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use fill in a sentence
I ate my fill of dulce de leche ice cream with a plastic spoon as it grew cool and viscous at the edges and felt like I’d won a prize.
The top of the pad is constructed with 400 thread count 100 percent cotton fabric, and the pad is filled with alternative down fill.
The best mattress protectors for ensuring your bed lasts a long time | PopSci Commerce Team | January 19, 2021 | Popular-ScienceThere are also latex fill pillows, which are reasonably firm and will hold their shape.
The package even comes with a separate fill bag, so you won’t need to place another order.
It’s made from shredded memory foam that is easily added to, using extra fill to customize the shape and support specific areas.
But politicians abhor a rhetorical vacuum, and they have clamored to fill it.
His regular partner was late that day, and Police Officer Wenjian Liu volunteered to fill in.
They are afflicted with “progressive spiritual emptiness,” he said, which no amount of academic honors and degrees can fill.
Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite’s 'Spiritual Alzheimer’s' | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt got so bad, that the school resorted to “Groupon-like services” to fill seats.
Is Any College Football Coach Worth $60 Million? Jim Harbaugh Is | Jesse Lawrence | December 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey were allowed to bring one bag per family, which most fill with food.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo fill up the time till Liszt came, our hostess made us play, one after the other, beginning with the latest arrival.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayIt was not an exalted niche to fill in life, but at least she had learned to fill it to perfection, and her ambitions were modest.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonIt's good for nothing but to choke a man and fill him full of smoke and embers.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.“Now this is what I call real felicity,” observed the major, pulling out a pipe which he proceeded to fill.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. BallantyneThere was a moment's pause, and Doa Inez returned into the saloon, which was now beginning rapidly to fill.
British Dictionary definitions for fill
/ (fɪl) /
(also intr) to make or become full: to fill up a bottle; the bath fills in two minutes
to occupy the whole of: the party filled two floors of the house
to plug (a gap, crevice, cavity, etc)
to meet (a requirement or need) satisfactorily
to cover (a page or blank space) with writing, drawing, etc
to hold and perform the duties of (an office or position)
to appoint or elect an occupant to (an office or position)
building trades to build up (ground) with fill
(also intr) to swell or cause to swell with wind, as in manoeuvring the sails of a sailing vessel
to increase the bulk of by adding an inferior substance
poker to complete (a full house, etc) by drawing the cards needed
mainly US and Canadian to put together the necessary materials for (a prescription or order)
fill the bill informal to serve or perform adequately
material such as gravel, stones, etc, used to bring an area of ground up to a required level
one's fill the quantity needed to satisfy one: to eat your fill
Origin of fill
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with fill
In addition to the idioms beginning with fill
- filled to the brim
- fill in
- fill out
- fill someone's shoes
- fill the bill
also see:
- back and fill
- get one's fill of
Also see underfull.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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