/ fɪl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
MAKE FULL
1.
fill (sth) (with sth) to make sth full of sth; to become full of sth :
[ vn ]
to fill a hole with earth / a bucket with water
to fill a vacuum / void
Please fill this glass for me.
The school is filled to capacity .
Smoke filled the room.
The wind filled the sails.
A Disney film can always fill cinemas (= attract a lot of people to see it) .
[ vn - adj ]
Fill a pan half full of water.
[ v ]
The room was filling quickly.
Her eyes suddenly filled with tears.
The sails filled with wind.
BLOCK HOLE
2.
[ vn ] to block a hole with a substance :
The crack in the wall had been filled with plaster.
I need to have two teeth filled (= to have fillings put in them) .
( figurative )
The product has filled a gap in the market.
WITH FEELING
3.
[ vn ] fill sb (with sth) to make sb have a strong feeling :
We were all filled with admiration for his achievements.
WITH SMELL / SOUND / LIGHT
4.
[ vn ] fill sth (with sth) if a smell, sound or light fills a place, it is very strong, loud or bright and easy to notice
-FILLED
5.
(in adjectives) full of the thing mentioned :
a smoke-filled room
a fun-filled day
A NEED
6.
[ vn ] to stop people from continuing to want or need sth :
More nurseries will be built to fill the need for high-quality child care.
JOB
7.
[ vn ] to do a job, have a role or position, etc. :
He fills the post satisfactorily (= performs his duties well) .
The team needs someone to fill the role of manager very soon.
8.
[ vn ] to appoint sb to a job :
The vacancy has already been filled.
TIME
9.
[ vn ] fill sth (up) to use up a particular period of time doing sth :
How do you fill your day now that you've retired?
WITH FOOD
10.
[ vn ] fill sb / yourself (up) (with sth) ( informal ) to make sb/yourself feel unable to eat any more :
The kids filled themselves with snacks.
AN ORDER
11.
[ vn ] if sb fills an order or a prescription , they give the customer what they have asked for
—see also unfilled
•
IDIOMS
- fill sb's shoes / boots
—more at bill noun
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- fill in (for sb)
- fill sth in
- fill sb in (on sth)
- fill out
- fill sth out
- fill up (with sth) | fill sth up (with sth)
■ noun [ sing. ]
1.
your ~ (of sth/sb) as much of sth/sb as you are willing to accept :
I've had my fill of entertaining for one week.
2.
your ~ (of food / drink) as much as you can eat / drink
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English fyllan (verb), fyllu (noun) of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vullen and German füllen (verbs), Fülle (noun), also to full .