Meaning & use
fill
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To put something into a container or space until it can hold no more, or until it is as full as you want.
Grammar: Takes the container as the object and 'with' for the contents: fill the glass with water.
Patterns
- fill something with something
- fill something up
She filled the bucket with water from the stream.
Please fill the tank before we leave town.
He filled the jar with coins until the lid wouldn't close.
verbintransitive
To become full of something, such as people, water, light or a feeling.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'with': the room filled with people.
Patterns
- something fills with something
- fill up
The theater filled quickly once the doors opened.
Her eyes filled with tears at the news.
The bath filled slowly because the pressure was low.
verbtransitive
To take up a job, a role or a stretch of time so that it is no longer free.
Grammar: Takes a position, space or time as its object: fill a vacancy, fill an hour.
Patterns
- fill a position
- fill a role
- fill time
The school still has to fill two teaching positions.
She filled her weekends with painting and long walks.
No one could fill the gap he left in the team.
verbtransitive
To supply what is needed or asked for, such as a prescription or an order.
Grammar: The object is the request or need: fill a prescription, fill a need.
Patterns
- fill an order
- fill a prescription
- fill a need
The pharmacy filled my prescription in ten minutes.
The warehouse filled over a thousand orders on Monday.
The new bakery fills a real need in this neighborhood.
Word forms
| third person singular | fills |
|---|---|
| past tense | filled |
| past participle | filled |
| -ing form | filling |
Common combinations
- fill a glass
- He filled a glass with orange juice.
- fill a vacancy
- The firm hopes to fill the vacancy by June.
- fill in a form
- Please fill in this form and sign at the bottom.
- fill a prescription
- The pharmacist filled the prescription while we waited.
- fill the gap
- Temporary workers filled the gap during the holidays.
- fill with joy
- The music filled her with joy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- load
- 'Load' means to put things into or onto something such as a truck, whereas 'fill' stresses that the space becomes full.
- stuff
- 'Stuff' implies packing something tightly, often too tightly, which 'fill' does not suggest.
- occupy
- 'Occupy' is more formal and used for taking up space, time or a position, matching only the third sense of 'fill'.
- replenish
- 'Replenish' means refilling something that has been used up, while 'fill' can be the first filling.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: fill or feel?
fill vs feel
'Feel' has a long vowel /fiːl/ while 'fill' has a short vowel /fɪl/; mixing them up changes the meaning, as in 'I fill happy' for 'I feel happy'.
Practice
She filled the jar ___ cookies before the guests arrived.
Choose one answer.
We say 'fill something with something'. 'Filled of' might seem natural to speakers of other languages, but it is not used in English; 'full of' is the adjective pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fill”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.