Definition of fill verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

fill

verb

/fɪl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they fill	/fɪl/ /fɪl/
he / she / it fills	/fɪlz/ /fɪlz/
past simple filled	/fɪld/ /fɪld/
past participle filled	/fɪld/ /fɪld/
-ing form filling	/ˈfɪlɪŋ/ /ˈfɪlɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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make full

[transitive, intransitive] to make something full of something; to become full of something

fill something Please fill this glass for me.
to fill a space/vacuum/void
Smoke filled the room.
Her image filled the screen.
The wind filled the sails.
A Disney film can always fill cinemas (= attract a lot of people to see it).
The school is filled to capacity.
fill something with something She filled the page with writing.
bags filled with household waste
Carl took a mug and filled it to the brim with hot coffee.
fill something + adj. Fill a pan half full of water.
You've filled it too full.
The room was filling quickly.
fill with something Her eyes suddenly filled with tears.
The room filled with smoke.
The sails filled with wind.

Extra Examples

Mourners filled the streets.
Fireworks filled the sky.
Crowds filled the stadium.
I started to write and quickly filled two pages.
Air rushes in to fill the vacuum.
A sculpture may fill a void at the end of a hallway.
They have to fill containers with water from the river.
Fill the device with purified water.
I filled a box with books.
She filled her pockets with sweets.
She had filled the room with flowers.
He seemed to fill the room with his presence.
The sky was filled with stars.
The drawers were all filled to the brim.
Don't fill the cups completely full so we can add milk.
Fill a bag full of small presents.
She filled the kettle from the tap.
The room soon filled with people.
The river rose and the cellar filled with water.
The sails began to fill.
The school is filled to capacity—we simply can't take any more students.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

fast
quickly
rapidly
…

verb + fill

begin to
seem to

preposition

with

phrases

be filled to capacity
be filled to the brim (with something)

See full entry

block hole

[transitive] to block a hole with a substance

fill something They used putty to fill the holes.
fill something with something The crack in the wall had been filled with plaster.

Extra Examples

They stuffed cloths in the window frames to fill the cracks.
Fill all the nail holes before you paint the wall.

tooth

[transitive] fill something to put a filling (= a small amount of special material) in a hole in a tooth

I need to have two teeth filled.

with feeling

[transitive, intransitive] to make somebody have a strong feeling; to become full of a strong feeling

fill somebody A deep joy filled me.
fill somebody with something We were all filled with admiration for his achievements.
fill with something His heart filled with pride.

Extra Examples

Hearing this news, he was filled with joy.
Filled with delight to see her, they hugged her.
I was filled with despair.
I felt myself fill with loathing.
Horror and disgust filled my heart.
My heart filled with sorrow.
She was filled with love and gratitude.
I was filled with so much emotion I didn't know what to do.
This news has filled us with new hope.
His experiences have filled his heart with rage.
You have filled your mind with hatred.

with smell/sound/light

[transitive] if a smell, sound or light fills a place, it is very strong, loud or bright and easy to notice

fill something The sound of bells ringing filled the air.
fill something with something Large windows fill the room with light.
The streets were filled with the smell of food cooking.

Extra Examples

The smell of paint filled the air.
A strong smell of burning filled the room.
Sunlight fills the house.
He walks in, and tension fills the air.
The air is filled with birds singing.
When she comes home, she fills the house with laughter.
Her parents' house was always filled with music.
a garden filled with the scent of flowers

-filled

(in adjectives) full of the thing mentioned

a smoke-filled room
a fun-filled day

a need/gap

[transitive] fill something to supply something that is missing

More nurseries will be built to fill the need for high-quality childcare.
Choose the best word to fill the gap in each sentence.
The product has filled a gap in the market.
She left a space in his life that nothing could fill.

Extra Examples

More reading will fill the gaps in your knowledge.
I needed extra coaching to fill the gaps in my grasp of the subject.
These kids use drugs to fill a hole in their lives.
We believe we are filling a void in the educational system.

job

[transitive] fill something to do a job, have a role or position, etc.

The team needs someone to fill the role of manager.
to fill a post/position
He fills the post satisfactorily (= performs his duties well).

[transitive] fill something to choose somebody for a job

The vacancy has already been filled.

time

[transitive] to use up a particular period of time doing something

fill something How do you fill your day now that you've retired?
Work expands to fill the time available.
fill something up I have plenty to fill up my leisure hours.
fill something in She went for a walk to fill in the time before her next appointment.

with food

[transitive] fill somebody/yourself (up) (with something) (informal) to make somebody/yourself feel unable to eat any more

The kids filled themselves with snacks.

an order

[transitive] fill something if somebody fills an order or a prescription, they give the customer what they have asked for

We need to reduce the time taken to fill orders.

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trait

noun

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