fill

1 /fIl/ verb

1 MAKE STH FULL

a) also fill up (T) to put the right amount of a liquid, substance, or material into a container, or put in enough to make it full: I filled a saucepan and put it on the stove. | You've filled the bath too full. | fill sth with: Fill the pots with earth. | fill sth to the brim (=fill something completely)

b) be filled with if a container is filled with something, it has had as much of something as possible put inside it: The next drawer was filled with neat piles of shirts.

2 BECOME FULL also fill up (I) if a place, building, or container fills, it gradually becomes full of people, things, or a particular substance: They opened the doors and the hall quickly started to fill.

(+ with): The trench is filling up with water.

3 NOT LEAVE ANY SPACE (T) if a lot of people or things fill a place, there are so many of them that there seems to be no room for anyone or anything else: Piles of newspapers filled the garage. | be filled with: The streets were filled with cheering crowds.

4 HOLE/CRACK also fill in (T) to put a substance in a hole or crack in order to make a surface smooth again: Fill any cracks in the wall before you paint it.

5 SOUND/SMELL/LIGHT (T) if a sound, smell, or light fills a place or space, you notice it because it is very loud or strong: The smell of freshly baked bread filled the room. | The stage filled with light. | be filled with: The air was filled with the sound of happy children.

6 EMOTIONS (T) if an emotion fills you, you feel it very strongly: A feeling of bliss filled his body. | be filled with: She was filled with a deep contentment.

7 fill a need/demand to give people something they want but which they have not been able to have until now: The program helps fill a growing need among teenagers for practical advice about drugs.

8 (T) if you fill a period of time with a particular activity you use most of your time doing it: Our days were filled with talk and music. | fill sth doing sth: Harry filled his spare time reading and writing to friends.

9 fill yourself informal to eat so much food that you cannot eat any more : fill yourself with: Don't fill yourself up with sweets, we're eating in an hour.

10 fill a job/post/position

a) to do a particular job: Women fill 30% of the senior positions.

b) to accept someone's offer of a job: a shortage of trained secretaries willing to fill permanent office vacancies

11 fill a role be a part of something: Pop music undoubtedly fills an important role in teenagers' lives.

12 fill an order especially AmE to supply the goods requested by a customer

13 fill the bill AmE to have exactly the right qualities;: We needed an experienced reporter and Willis fills the bill.

14 TEETH (T) to put a filling 2 (1) in a tooth

15 SAIL (I, T) if a sail fills or the wind fills a sail, the sail has a rounded shape rather than hanging down loosely

fill in phrasal verb

1 DOCUMENT (transitive fill something in) to write all the necessary information on an official document: Don't forget to fill in your boarding cards.

2 TELL SB NEWS (transitive fill someone in) to tell someone about things which have happened recently, especially because you have not seen them for a long time : fill sb in on sth: Let me fill you in on what's been happening in the office over lunch.

3 CRACK/HOLE (transitive fill something in) to put a substance in a hole or crack in order to make a surface smooth again: filling in the holes in the road

4 fill in time to use your time doing something unimportant, especially when you are waiting for something to happen: We've got some time to fill in before the show. Let's go for a drink.

5 SPACE (transitive fill something in) to paint or draw over the space inside a shape: Somebody had filled in all the `o's' on the page.

6 DO SB'S JOB (I) to do someone's job or work because they are unable to do it : fill in for sb: Sally's off sick. Can you fill in for her for a few days?

7 HIT SB (transitive fill someone in) BrE informal to hit someone hard and repeatedly all over their body: One more crack like that and I'll fill you in.

fill out phrasal verb

1 (transitive fill something out) to write all the necessary information on an official document: You haven't filled out the counterfoil.

2 (I)

a) if your body fills out it becomes rounded or large in a way that is considered attractive: Young Kevin has really filled out in the last six months.

b) a phrase meaning to become fat, used when you do not want to offend someone: I think Eric is filling out around the waist.

fill up phrasal verb

1 MAKE STH FULL (transitive fill something up) to put the right amount of a liquid or substance in a container or enough to make it full: Brad just kept filling up everyone's glasses with champagne.

2 BECOME FULL (I) to gradually become full of people, things, or a substance: The church was filling up with people who had come to pay their respects.

3 DOCUMENT (transitive fill something up) to write all the necessary information on an official document

4 fill (yourself) up informal to eat so much food that you cannot eat any more

(+ with): Don't fill yourself up with too many cookies.

5 STOP SB FEELING HUNGRY (transitive fill someone up) informal food that fills you up makes you feel you have eaten a lot when you have only eaten a small amount: I used to just have a sandwich for lunch, but that doesn't fill me up anymore.

2 noun

1 have your fill of sth to no longer be able to accept an unpleasant situation: I've had my fill of screaming kids for one day.

2 eat/drink your fill to eat or drink as much as you want or need

3 a fill of sth the quantity you need to fill something