fill
fill — verb
1. to take up space in a container, room, or area until little or no space remains;
to take up space in a container, room, or area until little or no space remains; also used for smells, sounds, or light that spread throughout a place.
The old bathtub slowly filled with hot water while Noa read her book.
intransitive: fill with [substance]
Vikram filled the car's petrol tank before the long drive north.
transitive: fill + container
The concert hall filled shortly after the doors opened at seven.
The smell of fresh bread filled the kitchen every morning.
fill [space] with [scent / sound / light]
Yumi filled a large bowl with salad for the family dinner.
- fill with water
- fill with smoke
- fill a room
- fill a container
- fill a glass
- fill a space
- empty
to remove all the contents from a container or space
Grammar Patterns
fill + container/space + with + substance
container/space + fill + with + substance
Usage Note
Can be used transitively (you fill something) or intransitively (something fills). The preposition 'with' introduces the substance doing the filling.
Common Mistakes
2. to close an opening or make a surface level by pushing a material into a hole, c
to close an opening or make a surface level by pushing a material into a hole, crack, or gap.
The workers filled the cracks in the wall with a special paste.
fill + hole + with + substance
Before painting, Ife filled the small holes in the plasterboard.
The gardener filled the hole in the lawn with fresh soil and grass seeds.
Tuan filled the gaps around the window frame with sealant to stop the draught.
fill + gap + with + [material]
- fill a hole
- fill a crack
- fill a gap
- fill with cement
- fill with soil
- fill a cavity
Grammar Patterns
fill + hole/crack/gap + with + substance
Usage Note
The object is the hole, crack, or gap — not the material being put in. To say what substance is used, add 'with + [material]'.
Common Mistakes
3. to give people a thing they lack or have requested — for example, preparing medi
to give people a thing they lack or have requested — for example, preparing medicine for a patient with a note from a doctor, or sending goods that a customer bought online.
The pharmacist filled Christopher's prescription within twenty minutes.
fill + [a prescription]
Lien's online store fills orders within two business days.
fill + [an order]
The new community centre helped fill a gap in services for elderly residents.
fill + [a] gap (metaphorical)
Kabir filled the need for a Mandarin tutor at the local school.
- fill a prescription
- fill an order
- fill a need
- fill a gap
- fill a vacancy
Grammar Patterns
fill + order/prescription/need/gap
Usage Note
Common object nouns include 'prescription', 'order', 'need', and 'gap'. This sense is common in retail, healthcare, and service contexts.
Common Mistakes
4. to treat a decayed tooth by placing a special material into the damaged area to
to treat a decayed tooth by placing a special material into the damaged area to stop the decay from spreading.
The dentist filled two cavities in Élise's back teeth last Tuesday.
fill + [a] cavity
Mia needed to get her front tooth filled before the wedding.
The clinic can fill a small cavity in about thirty minutes.
Eli's dentist filled the hole and said it should last for several years.
fill + hole (tooth context)
- fill a tooth
- fill a cavity
- fill a hole (in a tooth)
- get a tooth filled
Grammar Patterns
fill + tooth/cavity
Usage Note
Only used for teeth. The substance used is called a 'filling' (noun). 'Fill a tooth' and 'fill a cavity' are both common.
5. to cause someone to experience a strong emotion, such as joy, pride, fear, or sa
to cause someone to experience a strong emotion, such as joy, pride, fear, or sadness.
The news of her promotion filled Isabela with joy and excitement.
fill + person + with + emotion
Watching the sunset over the ocean filled Vikram with a deep sense of peace.
The teacher's encouraging words filled the nervous student with confidence.
The sad ending of the film filled Aylin with a feeling of loneliness.
passive: be filled with [emotion]
- fill with joy
- fill with pride
- fill with anger
- fill with fear
- fill with hope
- fill with sadness
Grammar Patterns
fill + person + with + emotion_noun
Usage Note
Commonly used with emotions like 'joy', 'pride', 'anger', 'fear', 'sadness', 'hope', and 'confidence'. Often found in the passive: 'be filled with [emotion]'.
Common Mistakes
6. to take on a job or role, or to choose someone to do a particular job.
to take on a job or role, or to choose someone to do a particular job.
Dr. Chen has filled the position of head physician at the city hospital.
fill + [a] position / role
The company needs to fill three new jobs in the engineering department.
fill + [a] job
Yumi filled the post of marketing director after the previous one retired.
The school board is looking for someone to fill the principal's role.
- fill a position
- fill a post
- fill a role
- fill a vacancy
- fill a job
- vacate
to leave a position or role empty
Grammar Patterns
fill + position/role/post + with/for + person
Usage Note
Formal register — used in business, government, and institutional contexts. The object is the position, not the person. 'Fill a vacancy' also fits this sense.
Common Mistakes
7. to eat or drink enough so that you no longer feel hungry or thirsty.
to eat or drink enough so that you no longer feel hungry or thirsty.
The children filled themselves with pizza and cake at the party.
reflexive: fill oneself with [food]
A bowl of hot soup was enough to fill Théo after his long walk.
The huge meal filled the guests so much that nobody wanted dessert.
We filled our stomachs with rice and vegetables before the long hike.
fill + [one's] stomach + with + [food]
- fill oneself
- fill one's stomach
- fill with food
- fill up on
Grammar Patterns
fill + oneself + with + food
fill + person
Usage Note
Often used with a reflexive pronoun ('fill yourself') or with 'stomach' as the object. Less formal than 'satisfy one's appetite'.
fill in
phrasal verbTo add information to a form or document by writing in the blank spaces.
Please fill in your name and address here.
Did you fill in the application form yet?
fill out
phrasal verbTo complete a form or document by providing all required information.
She filled out the registration form online.
Make sure to fill out every section of the survey.
fill up
phrasal verbTo make something completely full, especially a container or vehicle.
I need to fill up the car with gas.
The waiter filled up our water glasses.
fill up on
phrasal verbTo eat or drink a large amount of something, so that you are full.
The kids filled up on candy before dinner.
Don't fill up on bread; save room for the main course.
fill/fit the bill
idiomTo be exactly what is needed for a particular situation or purpose.
This small laptop fits the bill for my travels.
Does this candidate fill the bill for the job?
fill your boots
idiomAn invitation to take as much as you want of something, especially food or drink.
There's plenty of pizza, so fill your boots!
The buffet is open; fill your boots with dessert.
To do someone's job well enough when they are absent or have left.
No one can fill her shoes after she retires.
Can you fill his boots while he's on leave?
fill — noun
1. as much of something — especially food, drink, or an experience — as someone wan
as much of something — especially food, drink, or an experience — as someone wants or can handle.
After two plates of pasta, Erik had eaten his fill and stopped.
one's fill (possessive)
The children played in the park until they had their fill of fun.
Yasmin had had her fill of rude customers and decided to quit.
one's fill of [something] (experience)
The audience had their fill of drama by the end of the long performance.
- one's fill
- have one's fill
- one's fill of food
- one's fill of something
- enough
more general; not limited to consumption or experience
- sufficiency
more formal; a formal term for an adequate amount
Usage Note
Almost always used in the possessive pattern 'one's fill' ('my fill', 'her fill', 'their fill'). The thing being consumed follows 'of'.
Common Mistakes
2. any substance or material used to occupy a space, cavity, or gap — for example,
any substance or material used to occupy a space, cavity, or gap — for example, soil used to level ground or stuffing inside a cushion.
The builders used sand as fill to level the ground before laying the floor.
fill as uncountable substance
The cushion's fill was made of soft feathers and synthetic fibres.
Trucks brought loads of gravel fill for the new road project.
The old pillows had lost their fill and become flat and lumpy.
possessive: [object]'s fill
- sand fill
- gravel fill
- cushion fill
- use as fill
- dirt fill
Usage Note
Uncountable noun. Refers to the material itself, not the action of filling. Common in construction ('gravel fill', 'dirt fill') and manufacturing ('cushion fill').
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
'Fill' is the general word for putting as much as possible into a container or space until it is full: you fill a glass with water or a room with people. 'Pack' suggests filling tightly and neatly, often with care or organisation — for example, packing a suitcase or packing a box with dishes. 'Stuff' implies pushing material in forcefully or carelessly, without much order, such as stuffing a pillow with cotton or stuffing clothes into a drawer. 'Load' focuses on putting a large quantity into something designed to carry it, like loading a truck with furniture or loading a washing machine with laundry. A useful distinction: you fill a cup (any liquid, no force needed), you pack a bag (organised arrangement), you stuff a turkey (forcibly fill a cavity), and you load a van (putting heavy items into a vehicle).
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'fill' comes from Old English 'fyllan', meaning 'to make full, fill up'. This can be traced back to Proto-Germanic '*fulljan', which was formed from '*fullaz' (full). The ultimate root is the Proto-Indo-European '*pel-' meaning 'to fill'. The core idea of making something full has stayed remarkably consistent over more than a thousand years of English.