I. fill 1 S1 W1 /fɪl/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ fill , ↑ refill , ↑ filling , ↑ filler ; verb : ↑ fill , ↑ refill ; adjective : ↑ filling ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: fyllan ; related to ⇨ ↑ full 1 ]
1 . BECOME/MAKE FULL [intransitive and transitive] ( also fill up ) if a container or place fills, or if you fill it, enough of something goes into it to make it full:
He poured her a drink, then filled his own glass.
My job was filling the flour sacks.
Take a deep breath and allow your lungs to fill.
fill (something) with something
Her eyes filled with tears.
fill something to the brim/to overflowing (=fill something completely)
a bucket filled to the brim with ice
There was just enough wind to fill the sails.
Miller’s band was filling dance halls (=attracting a lot of people) all over the country.
2 . LARGE THING/NUMBER [transitive] if a thing or group fills something, there is no space left:
Crowds of well-wishers filled the streets.
His wartime experiences would fill a book!
All the seats were filled and a number of people were standing.
Numerous pictures fill every available space.
3 . SOUND/SMELL/LIGHT [transitive] if a sound, smell, or light fills a place, you notice it because it is very loud or strong:
The smell of freshly baked bread filled the room.
be filled with something
The air was filled with the sound of children’s laughter.
4 . EMOTIONS [transitive] if you are filled with an emotion, or if it fills you, you feel it very strongly
be filled with admiration/joy/happiness etc
I was filled with admiration for her.
be filled with horror/fear/anger/doubt/remorse
Their faces were suddenly filled with fear.
fill somebody with something
The prospect filled him with horror.
5 . PROVIDE SOMETHING [transitive] to provide something that is needed or wanted but which has not been available or present before
fill a need/demand
Volunteers fill a real need for teachers in the Somali Republic.
fill a gap/hole/niche etc
I spent most of the summer filling the gaps in my education.
The company has moved quickly to fill the niche in the overnight travel market.
6 . SPEND TIME [transitive] if you fill a period of time with a particular activity, you spend that time doing it
fill your time/the days etc (with something)
I have no trouble filling my time.
7 . PERFORM A JOB [transitive] to perform a particular job, activity, or purpose in an organization, or to find someone or something to do this
fill a post/position/vacancy etc
Women fill 35% of senior management positions.
Thank you for your letter. Unfortunately, the vacancy has already been filled.
The UK should find another weapon to fill the same role.
8 . CRACK/HOLE [transitive] ( also fill in ) to put a substance into a hole, crack etc to make a surface level:
Fill in any cracks before starting to paint.
materials developed to fill tooth cavities
9 . fill yourself (up)/fill your face informal to eat so much food that you cannot eat any more
10 . fill an order to supply the goods that a customer has ordered:
The company is struggling to fill $11 million in back orders.
11 . fill the bill American English to have exactly the right qualities SYN fit the bill British English :
We needed an experienced reporter and Willis fills the bill.
12 . fill sb’s shoes to do the work that someone else normally does, especially when this is difficult because they have set a high standard
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ fill to put enough of something into a container to make it full:
Jenny filled the kettle and put it on to boil.
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Party balloons can be filled with helium.
▪ fill up to fill something completely – used especially about putting petrol in the tank of a car:
I need to fill up the car.
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The waiter filled up everyone’s glasses.
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If the oil tank is less than half full, tell them to fill it up.
▪ load/load up to fill a vehicle with goods, furniture etc:
Two men were loading a truck with boxes of melons.
▪ stuff/cram to quickly fill something such as a bag or pocket by pushing things into it tightly:
She hurriedly stuffed some things into an overnight bag and left.
▪ refill to fill a container again, after what was in it has been used:
I’m just going to refill this bottle from the tap.
▪ top up British English , top off American English to fill a glass or cup that still has some liquid in it:
Can I top up your glass of wine?
▪ replenish formal to make something full again, especially with a supply of something such as water or food:
The lake is fed by springs that are eternally replenished by the rain.
fill in phrasal verb
1 . DOCUMENT fill something ↔ in to write all the necessary information on an official document, form etc:
Don’t forget to fill in your boarding cards.
2 . TELL SOMEBODY NEWS fill somebody ↔ in to tell someone about recent events, especially because they have been away from a place
fill somebody ↔ in on
I think you’d better fill me in on what’s been happening.
3 . CRACK/HOLE fill something ↔ in to put a substance into a hole, crack etc so it is completely full and level
4 . fill in time to spend time doing something unimportant because you are waiting for something to happen:
She flipped through a magazine to fill in the time.
5 . SPACE fill something ↔ in to paint or draw over the space inside a shape
6 . DO SB’S JOB to do someone’s job because they are not there
fill in for
I’m filling in for Joe for a few days.
fill out phrasal verb
1 . fill something ↔ out to write all the necessary information on an official document, form etc
2 . if you fill out, or your body fills out, you become slightly fatter:
Eric has filled out around the waist.
3 . if a young person fills out, their body becomes more like an adult’s body, for example by having bigger muscles, developing breasts etc:
At puberty, a girl’s body begins to fill out.
4 . fill something ↔ out to add more details to a description or story
fill up phrasal verb
1 . if a container or place fills up, or if you fill it up, it becomes full
fill up with
Her eyes filled up with tears.
fill something ↔ up
Shall I fill the car up (=with petrol) ?
2 . fill (yourself) up informal to eat so much food that you cannot eat any more
fill (yourself) up with/on
Don’t fill yourself up with cookies.
He filled up on pecan pie.
3 . fill somebody up informal food that fills you up makes you feel as though you have eaten a lot when you have only eaten a small amount
II. fill 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ fill , ↑ refill , ↑ filling , ↑ filler ; verb : ↑ fill , ↑ refill ; adjective : ↑ filling ]
1 . have had your fill of something informal to have done something or experienced something, especially something unpleasant, so that you do not want any more:
I’ve had my fill of screaming kids for one day.
2 . eat/drink your fill old-fashioned to eat or drink as much as you want or need