fill

[ fil ]

/ fɪl /

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See synonyms for: fill / filled / filling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

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.

noun

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.

Verb Phrases

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR fill

2 crowd, pack, jam, cram.

13 satisfy, answer, fulfill.

See synonyms for fill on Thesaurus.com

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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

First recorded before 900; Middle English fillen, fullen, fellen, Old English fyllan; cognate with German füllen, Gothic fulljan “to make full”; see origin at full¹

OTHER WORDS FROM fill

fill·a·ble, adjectivehalf-filled, adjectiveun·filled, adjectivewell-filled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fill in a sentence

For anyone who’s already had their fill of the game, this isn’t going to inspire anyone but the biggest fans.
‘Ghost of Tsushima’ sees the best kind of PlayStation 5 upgrade: transformative and free|Gene Park|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
It was about a two-hour hangout and you can watch the whole thing here, although I have to confess that my phone camera setup wasn’t ideal for helping viewers see the grid fill in one word at a time.
Solution to Evan Birnholz’s Nov. 8 Post Magazine crossword, “Capital Gains”|Evan Birnholz|November 8, 2020|Washington Post
Koval says visitors to Schloss Moritzburg in Saxony, Germany, will come away with a lifetime’s fill of colossal antlers.
No travel plans? Try three new books about the nexus of travel and design.|Rebecca Powers|November 5, 2020|Washington Post
You can see a nice demonstration of how to draw uncertainty below—it’s that pale blue or red fill surrounding each of the center lines.
Election graphics can be deceiving. Here’s how to see through their tricks.|Sara Chodosh|September 22, 2020|Popular-Science

Like virtually every media company with a distributed video strategy, Rechter said the instream ad fill rate for First Media’s Facebook videos slid when the coronavirus first hit, though the videos remained profitable thanks to higher view counts.
‘We have seen increasing demand’: Facebook video powers a user-generated content surge|Max Willens|September 22, 2020|Digiday
There are parks filled with men pushing strollers and coffee shops where fathers meet their friends, babes in arms.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Instead, spa hotels filled up with over 30,000 refugees from the war-troubled Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Bachner stayed because he realized the city is filled with artisans and the possibilities fascinated him.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Buses filled with cops from the 84th Precinct, where Liu had worked.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Scrolling through this hate-filled manifesto for the first time made the hairs on my arm tingle with discomfort.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright Was Worse Than Scalise|Ron Christie|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The big room at King's Warren Parsonage was already fairly well filled.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
He that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth deceitfully, shall meet with a stumblingblock therein.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Bells were pealing and tolling in all directions, and the air was filled with the sound of distant shouts and cries.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
Sol got up, slowly; took a backward step into the yard; filled his lungs, opened his mouth, made his eyes round.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
In Luke it is said, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom.”
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for fill

fill

/ (fɪl) /

verb (mainly tr often foll by up)

(also intr) to make or become fullto fill up a bottle; the bath fills in two minutes

to occupy the whole ofthe 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

noun

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 oneto eat your fill

See also fill away, fill in, fill out, fill up

Word Origin for fill

Old English fyllan; related to Old Frisian fella, Old Norse fylla, Gothic fulljan, Old High German fullen; see full 1, fulfil

Collins 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

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.

fill

OTHER WORDS FOR fill

Idioms about fill

Origin of fill

OTHER WORDS FROM fill

Words related to fill

How to use fill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fill

Word Origin for fill

Other Idioms and Phrases with fill