refill
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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refills,
present (3rd person singular)
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refilled,
past participle, past
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refilling
present participle
noun
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refills
plural
verb
noun
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a replacement for a consumable substance in a permanent container
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a second or subsequent filling
a refill at the petrol station
-
informal another drink to replace one already drunk
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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refillsimple
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refillssimple
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have refilledperfect
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has refilledperfect
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am refillingprogressive
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are refillingprogressive
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is refillingprogressive
-
have been refillingperfect progressive
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has been refillingperfect progressive
Past
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refilledsimple
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had refilledperfect
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was refillingprogressive
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were refillingprogressive
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had been refillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of refill
Explanation
To refill is to fill something again, the way you refill your motorcycle's gas tank or refill your cat's water bowl when you notice it's almost empty. You can also refill a prescription, by going to the pharmacy and getting another month's worth of medication. The bottle of pills itself can also be called a refill. People commonly use this word as a noun for the act of filling up, too: "Hey, grab that waiter and ask for a refill on the Cokes!"
Vocabulary lists containing refill
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:
Their embryos can stop developing and remain dormant in damp mud, resuming development when seasonal rains refill the pools.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026
During the height of the blaze, it took 40 minutes to refill its water carrier due to reduced pressure - and crews had to rely on an additional high-volume pump for water supply.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
It cautioned that the "window for sufficient refill is closing".
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
After rinsing the pipe, workers will refill it with clean water, refill the hole and repave the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
I refill my ice cube trays and realize that life as I knew it is now officially over.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Sampe's team only has two 6,000-litre fire engines, and deploys one at a time while the other refills.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
The team defined discontinuation as a gap of more than 60 days between prescription refills.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 16, 2026
You will probably need to pay a plumber to ensure the cistern refills properly, but whether that money should go to the same company depends largely on how they respond now.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
Photos posted on social media show concession stand signs stating that free refills were available only on the day of purchase.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
He refills my Sprite glass again, with two more cherries this time.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
Somebody washed the ramekins and refilled the baskets.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Millions of workers leave or switch jobs every year — and those jobs need to be refilled.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
But problems arose shortly after the pool was refilled, with algae quickly regrowing and the new liner peeling in multiple places.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Countries often complement them with smaller scoopers, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that carry higher loads but have to be refilled on land.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
They’d taken some bottles of water from the pharmacy—it seemed very long ago now—and he refilled those as well.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Then there’s the issue of refilling global oil reserves, which have fallen to their lowest in years, to help offset the war’s supply disruptions.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2026
One of Earth's most powerful supervolcanoes is slowly refilling its enormous underground magma reservoir, thousands of years after producing one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recent geological history.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
It said it would ensure a stable supply of low-cost oil that can facilitate refilling the federal stockpile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
"We fear today," said Jeremy Presi, a local business owner volunteering to help firefighters at a water refilling station.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
But Mama needed to return to Akira, so Hanako got to work draining the tub water, cleaning the tub, refilling it with the pump, and starting the fire beneath it.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
