(fills, filling, filled)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
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...
She made sandwiches, filled a flask and put sugar in...
The boy's eyes filled with tears...
While the bath was filling, he padded about in his underpants.
? empty
VERB: V n with n, V n, V with n, V
•
Fill up means the same as
fill.
Pass me your cup, Amy, and I'll fill it up for you...
Warehouses at the frontier between the two countries fill up with sacks of rice and flour.
PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P with n, also V P, V P n (not pron)
2.
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...
The text fills 231 pages.
VERB: V n, V n
•
Fill up means the same as
fill.
...the complicated machines that fill up today's laboratories.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P
• filled
...four museum buildings filled with historical objects.
ADJ: v-link ADJ with n
• -filled
...the flower-filled courtyard of an old Spanish colonial house.
COMB in ADJ
3.
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...
The gravedigger filled the grave.
VERB: V n with n, V n
•
Fill in means the same as
fill.
If any cracks have appeared in the tart case, fill these in with raw pastry.
PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)
4.
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...
All the light bars were turned on which filled the room with these rotating beams of light...
VERB: V n, V n with n
• -filled
...those whose work forces them to be in dusty or smoke-filled environments.
COMB in ADJ
5.
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...
He looked at me without speaking, and for the first time I could see the pride that filled him...
VERB: V n with n, V n
6.
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: V n, also V n with n
•
Fill up means the same as
fill.
On Thursday night she went to her yoga class, glad to have something to fill up the evening.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P
7.
If something fills a need or a gap, it puts an end to this need or gap by existing or being active.
She brought him a sense of fun, of gaiety that filled a gap in his life.
VERB: V n
8.
If something fills a role, position, or function, they have that role or position, or perform that function, often successfully.
Dena was filling the role of diplomat's wife with the skill she had learned over the years.
= perform
VERB: V n
9.
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.
One problem not mentioned is the unemployed may not have the skills to fill the vacancies on offer...
A vacancy has arisen which I intend to fill.
VERB: V n, V n
10.
When a dentist fills someone's tooth, he or she puts a filling in it.
It is almost impossible to find a dentist who will fill a tooth on the National Health.
VERB: V n
11.
If you fill an order or a prescription, you provide the things that are asked for. (mainly AM)
A pharmacist can fill any prescription if, in his or her judgment, the prescription is valid.
VERB: V n
12.
to
fill the bill: see
bill