fill out

British  

verb

1. to make or become fuller, thicker, or rounder

   her figure has filled out since her marriage

2. to make more substantial

   the writers were asked to fill their stories out

3. (tr) to complete (a form, application, etc)

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fill out Idioms  

1. Complete by supplying required information, especially in writing. For example, Please fill out the application form , or I don't quite understand this drawing, so fill out the details . [Late 1800s]

2. Become enlarged, distended, rounded in outline. For example, The wind filled out the sails , or He's put on weight and really filled out . Applied to objects, this expression dates from about 1700, but to persons or animals becoming fatter, only from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

During the Depression, he said, restaurateurs “really had to stretch food,” and smashing the meat made it fill out the bun.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

With his departure, the sport loses a fighter who could draw a crowd and fill out arenas without ever holding a world title.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

Christine Gast, a New Jersey resident who shops for her five nephews, is big on thrift stores, especially for the clothes and stuffed animals she purchases to fill out those baskets.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

He said he has received no assistance from the State Department despite following its directions to register, call a hotline and fill out a crisis form.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

Did you have to fill out an application for a contest if you intended to sabotage the contest?

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

Related Words

• round out