Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense fills, present participle filling, past tense, past participle filled
1. verb
If you fill a container or area, or if it fills, an amount of something enters it that is enough to make it full.
Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a slow boil. [VERB noun + with]
She made sandwiches, filled a flask and put sugar in. [VERB noun]
The victims' lungs fill quickly with fluid. [VERBwith noun]
The boy's eyes filled with tears. [VERB + with]
While the bath was filling, he padded about in his underpants. [VERB]
Synonyms: top up, fill up, make full, become full More Synonyms of fill
Fill up means the same as fill.
Pass me your cup, Amy, and I'll fill it up for you. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
Warehouses at the frontier between the two countries fill up with sacks of rice andflour. [VERBPARTICLE + with]
2. verb
If something fills a space, it is so big, or there are such large quantities of it, that there is very little room left.
He cast his eyes at the rows of cabinets that filled the enormous work area. [VERB noun]
The text fills 231 pages. [VERB noun]
Fill up means the same as fill.
...the complicated machines that fill up today's laboratories. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
filledadjective [verb-link ADJECTIVEwith noun]
...four museum buildings filled with historical objects.
-filledcombining form
...the flower-filled courtyard of an old Spanish colonial house.
3. verb
If you fill a crack or hole, you put a substance into it in order to make the surface smooth again.
Fill small holes with wood filler in a matching colour. [VERB noun + with]
The gravedigger filled the grave. [VERB noun]
Fill in means the same as fill.
If any cracks have appeared in the tart case, fill these in with raw pastry. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
[Also VERBPARTICLE noun]
4. verb
If a sound, smell, or light fills a space, or the air, it is very strong or noticeable.
In the parking lot of the school, the siren filled the air. [VERB noun]
All the light bars were turned on which filled the room with these rotating beamsof light. [VERB noun + with]
The barn was filled with the sour-sweet smell of fresh dung. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: saturate, charge, pervade, permeate More Synonyms of fill
-filledcombining form
...another sunshine-filled day.
...those whose work forces them to be in dusty or smoke-filled environments.
5. verb
If something fills you with an emotion, or if an emotion fills you, you experience this emotion strongly.
I admired my father, and his work filled me with awe and curiosity. [VERB noun + with]
He looked at me without speaking, and for the first time I could see the pride thatfilled him. [VERB noun]
He stared at his favourite child, dismayed, filled with fear. [VERB-ed]
6. verb
If you fill a period of time with a particular activity, you spend the time in this way.
If she wants a routine to fill her day, let her do community work. [VERB noun]
[Also VERB noun + with]
Fill up means the same as fill.
On Thursday night she went to her yoga class, glad to have something to fill up theevening. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
7. verb
If something fills a need or a gap, it puts an end to this need or gap by existing or being active.
I could take this skill set and turn it into something that fills a need. [VERB noun]
She brought him a sense of fun, of gaiety that filled a gap in his life. [VERB noun]
8. verb
If something fills a role, position, or function, they have that role or position, or perform that function,often successfully.
The company develops internal candidates to fill management roles. [VERB noun]
9. verb
If a company or organization fills a job vacancy, they choose someone to do the job. If someone fills a job vacancy, they accept a job that they have been offered.
The unemployed may not have the skills to fill the vacancies on offer. [VERB noun]
A vacancy has arisen which I intend to fill. [VERB noun]
10. verb
If you fillyourself with food, you eat so much that you do not feel hungry.
They joked and drank coffee and filled themselves with chocolate cake. [V pron-refl with n]
Synonyms: satisfy, stuff, gorge, glut More Synonyms of fill
11. verb
A play, film, or performer that fills a theatre, concert hall, or cinema attracts a very large audience.
Children are enthralled by his stories; he has been known to fill theatre halls inAustralia. [VERB noun]
12. verb
When a dentist fills someone's tooth, he or she puts a filling in it.
...children having teeth filled due to decay. [VERB noun]
13. verb
If you fill an order or a prescription, you provide the things that are asked for.
[mainly US]
A pharmacist can fill any prescription if, in his or her judgment, the prescriptionis valid. [VERB noun]
14.
See have had one's fill of sth
15. to fill the bill
Phrasal verbs:
See fill in
See fill out
See fill up
More Synonyms of fill
fill in British English
(fɪl)
verb(mainly tr; often foll byup)
1. (also intr)
to make or become full
to fill up a bottle
the bath fills in two minutes
2.
to occupy the whole of
the party filled two floors of the house
3.
to plug (a gap, crevice, cavity, etc)
4.
to meet (a requirement or need) satisfactorily
5.
to cover (a page or blank space) with writing, drawing, etc
6.
to hold and perform the duties of (an office or position)
7.
to appoint or elect an occupant to (an office or position)
8. building
to build up (ground) with fill
9. (also intr)
to swell or cause to swell with wind, as in manoeuvring the sails of a sailing vessel
10.
to increase the bulk of by adding an inferior substance
11. poker
to complete (a full house, etc) by drawing the cards needed
12. mainly US and Canadian
to put together the necessary materials for (a prescription or order)
13. fill the bill
noun
14.
material such as gravel, stones, etc, used to bring an area of ground up to a required level
15. one's fill
Word origin
Old English fyllan; related to Old Frisian fella, Old Norse fylla, Gothic fulljan, Old High German fullen; see full1, fulfil
fill in American English
(fɪl)
verb transitive
1.
a.
to put as much as possible into; make full
b.
to put a considerable quantity of something into
to fill the tub for a bath, to fill one's life with joy
2.
a.
to take up or occupy all or nearly all the capacity, area, or extent of
the crowd filled the room
b.
to spread or be diffused throughout
3.
a.
to occupy (an office, position, etc.)
b.
to put a person into (an office, position, etc.)
4. US
to fulfill (an engagement to perform, speak, etc.)
5. US
a.
to supply the things needed or called for in (an order, prescription, etc.)
b.
to satisfy (a need, requirement, etc.)
6.
a.
to close or plug (holes, cracks, etc.)
b.
to insert a filling in (a tooth)
7.
to satisfy the hunger or desire of; feed or satiate
8. US
to raise the level of (low land) by adding earth, gravel, etc.
9. Nautical
a.
to cause (a sail) to swell out
b.
to adjust (a sail) so that the wind strikes its after side
10. US, Poker
to draw the card or cards needed to complete (a straight, flush, or full house)
verb intransitive
11.
to become full
noun
12.
all that is needed to make full
13.
all that is needed to satisfy
to eat or drink one's fill
14. US
anything that fills or is used to fill; esp., earth, gravel, etc. used for fillinga hole or depression
15. US
a piece of land artificially raised to a required level, as a railroad embankment
Idioms:
fill in
fill out
fill someone in on
fill up
Word origin
ME fillen, fullen < OE fyllan < Gmc *fulljan, to make full < *fulla- (> Goth fulls, full1) + -jan, caus. suffix
More idioms containing
fill
have had your fill of something
fill your boots
fill someone's shoes
Examples of 'fill' in a sentence
fill
The game is filled with mixed emotions for me.
The Sun (2016)
You first notice each other where music fills the street.
The Sun (2016)
Who is ready to fill the void?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This book goes a long way towards filling that gap.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
He just fills you full of confidence and makes you want to go and defend for each other.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Highly capable women fill comparable roles in other sectors where the glass ceiling is much less of an issue.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They will play a role in filling about 4,000 positions that need staffing in the newadministration.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The house was filled with flowers, and the pool filled with eau de cologne.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Just because a low-calorie diet food fills you up, it does not mean that it will make you eat less.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It can seem gripped with emotion or filled with raging indignation in equal parts.
The Sun (2006)
The church is filled with these kinds of people.
Christianity Today (2000)
Old freight containers filled with rubble and placed all the way around the school fortified the building.
Stewart, Bob (Lt-Col) Broken Lives (1993)
The other two must be filled with food from home.
The Sun (2012)
Make sure you fill out the correct forms for a transfer.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
X-rays showed her lungs were filling with fluid and her heart was enlarged.
The Sun (2013)
The gaps were often filled by novices coming straight from flying school.
Patrick Bishop FIGHTER BOYS: Saving Britain 1940 (2003)
You meet where loud music fills the air.
The Sun (2014)
The simplest way to use photographic lights is to fill in the darker areas of the room.
Freeman, Michael Photographers Handbook (1993)
The position was filled by a person younger than the person replaced.
A Conceptual View of Human Resource Management: Strategic Objectives, Environments,Functions
My romantic fantasy is to fill the bath with champagne.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We have to fill the political void.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
His eyes filled with emotion and disbelief.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
That one bright note in a picture filled with darkness turns this into a symbolic masterpiece.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He handed them two cash containers which they filled up.
The Sun (2012)
Pure food is safer and more filling than processed food.
Sally Gunnell, Kathryn Leigh BE YOUR BEST: How Anyone can become Fit, Healthy and Confident (2002)
Tooth decay is normally removed by drilling the problem area away then filling the cavity with amalgam or composite resin.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Each area is filled with an abundance of content and you quickly find yourself pulled away from the main storyline.
The Sun (2014)
In other languages
fill
British English: fill /fɪl/ VERB
If you fill a container or area, or if it fills, an amount of something enters it that is enough to make it full.
Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a slow boil.
The boy's eyes filled with tears.
American English: fill
Arabic: يَـمْلُأ
Brazilian Portuguese: encher
Chinese: 装满
Croatian: puniti
Czech: plnit
Danish: fylde
Dutch: vullen
European Spanish: llenar
Finnish: täyttää
French: remplir
German: füllen
Greek: γεμίζω
Italian: riempire
Japanese: いっぱいにする
Korean: ...을 ...으로 채우다
Norwegian: fylle
Polish: napełnić
European Portuguese: encher
Romanian: a umple
Russian: наполнять
Latin American Spanish: llenar
Swedish: fylla
Thai: เติม
Turkish: doldurmak içini
Ukrainian: заповнювати
Vietnamese: làm đầy
All related terms of 'fill'
fill in
If you fill in a form or other document requesting information , you write information in the spaces on it.
fill up
If you fill up or fill yourself up with food, you eat so much that you do not feel hungry .
fill away
to cause a vessel's sails to fill, either by steering it off the wind or by bracing the yards
fill out
If you fill out a form or other document requesting information, you write information in the spaces on it.
gap-fill
In language teaching , a gap-fill test is an exercise in which words are removed from a text and replaced with spaces . The learner has to fill each space with the missing word or a suitable word.
half-fill
to fill (a vessel, place, etc) so that it holds or contains half its capacity
fill light
a light that supplements the key light without changing its character , used esp to lighten shadows
one's fill
the quantity needed to satisfy one
fill a glass
A glass is a container made from glass, which you can drink from and which does not have a handle .
back and fill
to manoeuvre the sails by alternately filling and emptying them of wind to navigate in a narrow place
fill her tins
to complete a home baking of cakes , biscuits , etc
fill the bill
to serve or perform adequately
fill one's boots
to take or do as much of something as one wants
fill your boots
to get as much of something valuable or desirable as you can
fill someone in on
to provide someone with additional facts , details , etc. about
fill someone's shoes
to do someone's job or hold their position as well as they did
have had one's fill of sth
If you have had your fill of something, you have had enough of it, and do not want to experience it any more or do it any more.
fit the bill
If you say that someone or something fits the bill or fills the bill , you mean that they are suitable for a particular job or purpose.
have had your fill of something
to have had as much of something bad as you can manage
fill sb's shoes/step into sb's shoes
If you fill someone's shoes or step into their shoes , you take their place by doing the job they were doing.
to fit the bill to fill the bill
If you say that someone or something fits the bill or fills the bill , you mean that they are suitable for a particular job or purpose.
Chinese translation of 'fill'
fill
(fɪl)
vt
[container]装(裝)满(滿) (zhuāngmǎn)
[space, area]占(佔)满(滿) (zhànmǎn)
[crack, hole]塞满(滿) (sāimǎn)
[tooth]补(補) (bǔ)
[role, position]担(擔)任 (dānrèn)
[job vacancy]
[company]选(選)人补(補)上 (xuǎn rén bǔshàng)
[candidate]补(補)上 (bǔshàng)
[gap, need]弥(彌)补(補) (míbǔ)
vi
[room, hall]挤(擠)满(滿) (jǐmǎn)
n
to have had one's fill of sth已经(經)受够(夠)了某事 (yǐjīng shòugòule mǒushì)
to eat/drink one's fill吃个(個)饱(飽)/喝个(個)够(夠) (chī gè bǎo/hē gè gòu)
to fill sth with sth用某物填满(滿)某物 (yòng mǒuwù tiánmǎn mǒuwù)
to be filled with anger/resentment满(滿)腔怒火/憎恨 (mǎnqiāng nùhuǒ/zēnghèn)
All related terms of 'fill'
fill in
( hole, crack ) 填满(滿) tiánmǎn
fill up
( food : person ) 使 ... 有饱(飽)胀(脹)的感觉(覺) shǐ ... yǒu bǎozhàng de gǎnjué