fill in

fill  (fl)

v. filled, fill·ing, fills

v.tr.

1.

a. To put into (a container, for example) as much as can be held: fill a glass with milk.

b. To supply or provide to the fullest extent: filled the mall with new stores.

c. To build up the level of (low-lying land) with material such as earth or gravel.

d. To stop or plug up (an opening, for example).

e. To repair a cavity of (a tooth).

f. To add a foreign substance to (cloth or wood, for example).

2.

a. To satiate, as with food and drink.

b. To satisfy or meet; fulfill: fill the requirements. See Synonyms at satisfy.

c. To complete (something) by insertion or addition: fill in the blanks.

d. To supply with material, such as writing, an inscription, or an illustration: filled the blank spaces on the page with notes.

3. To supply as required: fill a prescription; fill an order.

4.

a. To place a person in: fill a job vacancy.

b. To possess and discharge the duties of; hold: fill a post.

5.

a. To occupy the whole of; pervade: Music filled the room.

b. To spread throughout: Fear filled the city.

c. To engage or occupy completely; make full: filled the child's mind with strange ideas; a story that filled our hearts with joy.

6. To cover the surface of (an inexpensive metal) with a layer of precious metal, such as gold.

7. Nautical

a. To cause (a sail) to swell.

b. To adjust (a yard) so that wind will cause a sail to swell.

v.intr.

To become full.

n.

1. An amount needed to make full, complete, or satisfied: eat one's fill.

2. Material for filling a container, cavity, or passage.

3.

a. A built-up piece of land; an embankment.

b. The material, such as earth or gravel, used for this.

Phrasal Verbs:

fill in

1. Informal To provide with information that is essential or newly acquired: I wasn't therewould you fill me in?

2. To act as a substitute; stand in: an understudy who filled in at the last minute.

fill out

1. To complete (a form, for example) by providing required information: carefully filled out the job application.

2. To become or make more fleshy: He filled out after age 35.

Idioms:

fill (someone's) shoes

To assume someone's position or duties.

fill the bill Informal

To serve a particular purpose.

---

[Middle English fillen, from Old English fyllan; see pel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

---

filla·ble adj.

---

fill in

Verb

1. to complete (a form)

2. to act as a substitute

3. to put material into (a hole) so as to make it level with a surface

4. Informal to give (a person) fuller details

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	fill in - supply with information on a specific topic; "He filled me in on the latest developments" inform - impart knowledge of some fact, state or affairs, or event to; "I informed him of his rights"
	2.	fill in - represent the effect of shade or shadow on shade artistic creation, artistic production, art - the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully" paint - make a painting; "he painted all day in the garden"; "He painted a painting of the garden" draw - represent by making a drawing of, as with a pencil, chalk, etc. on a surface; "She drew an elephant"; "Draw me a horse" crosshatch - shade with multiple crossing lines; "the draftsman crosshatched the area"
	3.	fill in - be a substitute; "The young teacher had to substitute for the sick colleague"; "The skim milk substitutes for cream--we are on a strict diet" stand in, sub, substitute exchange, interchange, change - give to, and receive from, one another; "Would you change places with me?"; "We have been exchanging letters for a year"
	4.	fill in - write all the required information onto a form; "fill out this questionnaire, please!"; "make out a form" fill out, complete, make out