From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_096_dfillfill1 /fɪl/ ●●● S1 W1 verb 1 become/make fullFULL [intransitive, transitive] (also fill up) if a container or place fills, or if you fill it, enough of something goes into it to make it full He poured her a drink, then filled his own glass. My job was filling the flour sacks. Take a deep breath and allow your lungs to fill.fill (something) with something Her eyes filled with tears.fill something to the brim/to overflowing (=fill something completely) a bucket filled to the brim with ice There was just enough wind to fill the sails. Miller’s band was filling dance halls (=attracting a lot of people) all over the country.2 large thing/number [transitive] if a thing or group fills something, there is no space left Crowds of well-wishers filled the streets. His wartime experiences would fill a book! All the seats were filled and a number of people were standing. Numerous pictures fill every available space.3 sound/smell/light [transitive]C if a sound, smell, or light fills a place, you notice it because it is very loud or strong The smell of freshly baked bread filled the room.be filled with something The air was filled with the sound of children’s laughter.4 emotions [transitive]EMOTIONAL if you are filled with an emotion, or if it fills you, you feel it very stronglybe filled with admiration/joy/happiness etc I was filled with admiration for her.be filled with horror/fear/anger/doubt/remorse Their faces were suddenly filled with fear.fill somebody with something The prospect filled him with horror.5 NEEDprovide something [transitive] to provide something that is needed or wanted but which has not been available or present beforefill a need/demand Volunteers fill a real need for teachers in the Somali Republic.fill a gap/hole/niche etc I spent most of the summer filling the gaps in my education. The company has moved quickly to fill the niche in the overnight travel market. 6 spend time [transitive]SPEND TIME if you fill a period of time with a particular activity, you spend that time doing itfill your time/the days etc (with something) I have no trouble filling my time.7 perform a job [transitive] to perform a particular job, activity, or purpose in an organization, or to find someone or something to do thisfill a post/position/vacancy etc Women fill 35% of senior management positions. Thank you for your letter. Unfortunately, the vacancy has already been filled. The UK should find another weapon to fill the same role.8 crack/hole [transitive] (also fill in)REPAIR to put a substance into a hole, crack etc to make a surface level Fill in any cracks before starting to paint. materials developed to fill tooth cavities9 → fill yourself (up)/fill your face10 → fill an order11 → fill the bill12 → fill somebody’s shoesGrammarFill belongs to a group of verbs where the same noun can be the subject of the verb or its object. • You can say: She filled the bath with water. In this sentence, ‘the bath’ is the object of fill.• You can say: The bath filled with water. In this sentence, ‘the bath’ is the subject of fill.THESAURUSfill to put enough of something into a container to make it fullJenny filled the kettle and put it on to boil.Party balloons can be filled with helium.fill up to fill something completely – used especially about putting petrol in the tank of a carI need to fill up the car.The waiter filled up everyone’s glasses.If the oil tank is less than half full, tell them to fill it up.load/load up to fill a vehicle with goods, furniture etcTwo men were loading a truck with boxes of melons.stuff/cram to quickly fill something such as a bag or pocket by pushing things into it tightlyShe hurriedly stuffed some things into an overnight bag and left.refill to fill a container again, after what was in it has been usedI’m just going to refill this bottle from the tap.top up British English, top off American English to fill a glass or cup that still has some liquid in itCan I top up your glass of wine?replenish formal to make something full again, especially with a supply of something such as water or foodThe lake is fed by springs that are eternally replenished by the rain. → fill in → fill out → fill up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
fill• They opened the doors and the hall quickly filled.• Some analysts suspect that even the big companies will be stretched to fill all those extra berths.• Agelong Hindu cruelty to his unhappy brethren filled Ambedkar with anger and spite.• Visitors fill Brighton's streets during the summer.• Boxes and piles of magazines filled every room in the house.• A feeling of joy filled his heart.• Not without hesitation, he filled his water-bottle.• Just turn on the faucet and fill it up.• I found a clean mug and filled it.• We stood at the counter, filling our bowls with salad.• An audience of over 5,000 had filled the hall that night.• Fill the hole with a mixture of compost and sand.• The smell of smoke filled the house.• He seemed to Robbie's eyes to fill the limited space.• Mix the spinach and cheese and use it to fill the pasta shells.• Computers used to fill up entire rooms.• After heavy rains in March, the reservoirs began to fill up.• He had a notebook that he had filled with stories and poems.• Morsels of luscious chocolate that seem shaped by a jeweller's hand are filled with sumptuous extravagances.• The days were hot, filled with sunshine and clear skies.• Her eyes suddenly filled with tears.eyes filled with tears• After a while they started to remind him of something, and his eyes filled with tears.• She reproached him and her lovely eyes filled with tears.• Weir's eyes filled with tears.• When I read about her death, my eyes filled with tears.• Simon Cormack's eyes filled with tears and he began to cry uncontrollably.• Her eyes filled with tears, and her hands shook.fill ... space• But has Corky got enough material to fill the space? 9.• Jim Brown tried nightly to fill that space.• Prosperity was an endless prairie, and corporations expanded almost exponentially to fill those empty spaces.• Why fill up the space any sooner than necessary?• Incidentally, direct a little light down behind the speaker: it fills the space behind him and makes him more three-dimensional.• It must have been built to fill a space that was left after the five houses had been completed.• If Virginia Street seemed to stretch the material to fill the space, this second play seems to cram it in.• Yamaha is also offering an optional factory-fitted alarm and a U-lock to fill that space under the seat.be filled with something• For a week six bubbles were filled with boxes full of potpourri which had become infested with moths.• The sixth building, an explosives testing bunker, was filled with concrete.• The world is filled with divorced women.• My friends were filled with dread for the time when they would play my part in this ritual of passing.• The following day is filled with fatigue and irritability, and just making it through the workday is a major feat.• It was filled with hundreds of exotic ornaments his grandfather had collected on trips to the continent.• His black bag was filled with medicines.• He gave me a smile that was filled with pride.• Crowded stores were filled with shoppers.• Those who retained sufficient self-respect and sense of responsibility to think of the future were filled with the deepest apprehension.be filled with horror/fear/anger/doubt/remorse• Then he was filled with anger.• Their faces were filled with horror and fear when they saw me.• Her mind was filled with fears and hopes, the principal one being the same for her as for him.• I was filled with fear at what I had done.fill a gap/hole/niche etc• These interpretations will fill gaps, clarify, explain, and provide an overall view. 1.• At home, it will probably content itself with continuing to fill gaps in its branch network by buying thrifts.• Each draws significantly upon previously existing courses and each attempts to fill a gap in the current national provision of undergraduate education.• Finally, again as predicted, children coin new terms to fill gaps in their vocabularies.• Foreign agribusinesses, using sophisticated Internet marketing, quickly fill gaps in U.S. supplies of everything from asparagus to garlic.• Also plant replacements to fill gaps, or collections to fill new areas.• It was the finale for a grand old lady which filled a gap pending the arrival of more modern types.• It jumped in to fill a gap when InterCity ended seated accommodation on most sleeping car trains.fill ... role• And who, today, comes anywhere near filling that role?• Inside, however, I felt inherently inferior, inadequate to fill the role.• This will have profound implications for established roles and relationships, and the development of people with talent to fill the roles.• Until then, only the Government - which means the Department of the Environment - can fill this role.• With the shift toward commercial traffic plus diminishing federal support, most regional providers have to evolve to fill new roles.• Thomas gave Rose credit for filling the role of point guard Wednesday.• But, for the most part, these men and women were hired to fill more junior roles than Mr Steffen's.• We deny this, only to the inevitable result that we fool ourselves, and fill our leadership roles with fools.fillfill2 noun 1 → have had your fill of something2 → eat/drink your fillExamples from the Corpus
fill• He probably can not afford to get his fill.• And as I stood and gazed my fill A stable-boy came down the hill.• The fill must be stabilized before big-time development can start on the island.From Longman Business Dictionaryfillfill /fɪl/ verb1fill a job/post/vacancy etcHUMAN RESOURCES to find and employ a suitable person to do a job that has been advertisedHeadhunters are charging up to 60% of annual salary to fill a top job.The post cannot be filled by a British executive because it requires a more south-east Asian background.2fill a gap/hole/nicheMARKETING to provide a product or service that is needed but is not available or has not been provided beforeThe product has been researched and developed to fill a gap in the market place.IBM introduced a mainframe that fills a hole in its product line.3fill a need/demandMARKETING to provide a service that will deal with a problemThe futures and options business has filled a need for managing the fluctuating exchange rates.4fill an orderMANUFACTURING to supply the goods a customer has orderedAfter filling an order for the car from other Eastern European countries, the plant will be shut down. → fill something → in → fill in for somebody → fill something → out → fill up→ See Verb tableOrigin fill1 Old English fyllan; related to → FULL1 