filling

[ fil-ing ]

/ ˈfɪl ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR filling ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of filling.

something that is put in to fill something else: They used sand as filling for the depression.

Dentistry. a substance such as cement, amalgam, gold, or the like, used to fill a cavity caused by decay in a tooth.

a food mixture that goes into something, as if to fill it: sandwich filling; pie filling.

Also called pick, weft, woof. Textiles. yarn carried by the shuttle and interlacing at right angles with the warp in woven cloth.

Nearby words

filler cap, filler metal, fillet, fillet weld, filleting, filling, filling defect, filling station, fillip, fillipeen, fillister

Origin of filling

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at fill, -ing¹

Related formsself-fill·ing, adjectiveun·fill·ing, adjective

Definition for filling (2 of 2)

fill

[ fil ]

/ fɪl /

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.).

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.

Cookery. 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.

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.

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: Fill in the facts of your business experience.
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.
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.

Origin of fill

before 900; Middle English fillen, Old English fyllan; cognate with German füllen, Gothic fulljan to make full; see full¹

SYNONYMS FOR fill

2 crowd, pack, jam, cram.

13 satisfy, answer, fulfill.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fill ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsfill·a·ble, adjectivehalf-filled, adjectiveun·filled, adjectivewell-filled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for filling

He should be free, filling the world with happiness, love and his fighting spirit.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Senate Democrats face a choice: pushing through AG nominee Loretta Lynch, or filling 231 executive-branch vacancies.
What If the United States Had No Attorney General?|Eleanor Clift|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beltrán Leyva, a gourmand, was savoring his tamale with its filling of roasted corn.
Trading Dime Bags for Salvador Dali|Jason McGahan|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And this mix of intellectualism and faithfulness is filling an unmet need among students on many of these campuses.
Can Christians Still Go to Harvard?|Kirsten Powers, Jonathan Merritt|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At Henley, the other vaporium, the crew lying around on settees and filling the room with fog brought back Dutch flashbacks.
This Is Your E-Cigarette on Drugs|Daniel Genis|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I'd radiate like mad; I'd complain about the situation at every crossroad, at every filling station, before every farmer.
Highways in Hiding|George Oliver Smith
While filling in the excavation, the pipe represented in Fig. 22 was found in the dirt which had been removed from it.
Burial Mounds of the Northern Sections of the United States|Cyrus Thomas
When Cheston took Albina's hand at parting, he felt it tremble, and her eyes looked as if they were filling with tears.
Pencil Sketches|Eliza Leslie
Inside the annex to the lighthouse were the duplicate engines for filling tanks with compressed air.
Some Naval Yarns|Mordaunt Hall
The shout rang like a thunder-clap through the camp of the Æquians, waking them suddenly and filling them with dismay.
Historic Tales, Volume 11 (of 15)|Charles Morris

British Dictionary definitions for filling (1 of 2)

filling

/ (ˈfɪlɪŋ) /

noun

the substance or thing used to fill a space or containerpie filling

dentistry

any of various substances (metal, plastic, etc) for inserting into the prepared cavity of a tooth
the cavity of a tooth so filled

textiles another term for weft

adjective

(of food or a meal) substantial and satisfying

British Dictionary definitions for filling (2 of 2)

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

Word Origin and History for filling (1 of 3)

filling

verbal noun from fill (v.). Dentistry sense is from 1848. Filling station attested by 1921.

Word Origin and History for filling (1 of 3)

fill

"a full supply," mid-13c., fille, from Old English fylle, from Proto-Germanic *fullin- (cf. Old High German fulli, German Fülle, Old Norse fyllr), noun of state from *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Meaning "extra material in music" is from 1934.

Word Origin and History for filling (2 of 3)

fill

Old English fyllan "fill up, replenish, satisfy," from Proto-Germanic *fullijan (cf. Old Saxon fulljan, Old Norse fylla, Old Frisian fella, Dutch vullen, German füllen "to fill"), a derivative of adj. *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Related: Filled.

To fill the bill (1882) originally was U.S. theatrical slang, in reference to a star whose name would be the only one on a show's poster. To fill out "write in required matter" is recorded from 1880. Fill-in "substitute" (n.) is from 1918.

Medicine definitions for filling

filling

[ fĭl′ĭng ]

n.

Material, such as amalgam, gold, or a synthetic resin, used to fill a cavity in a tooth.

Idioms and Phrases with filling

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.

filling

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of filling

Definition for filling (2 of 2)

fill

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of fill

Examples from the Web for filling

British Dictionary definitions for filling (1 of 2)

filling

noun

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for filling (2 of 2)

fill

verb (mainly tr often foll by up)

noun

Word Origin for fill

Word Origin and History for filling (1 of 3)

filling

Word Origin and History for filling (1 of 3)

fill

Word Origin and History for filling (2 of 3)

fill

Medicine definitions for filling

filling

n.

Idioms and Phrases with filling

fill