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   fill

   /fɪl/

   verb

   • 1. cause (a space or container) to become full or almost full: "I filled the bottle with water" Similar make/become fullfill upfill to the brimfill to overflowingchargeload (up)packtop upcrowdthrongpack (into)jamoccupy all ofpress intosqueeze intocram (into)overcrowdcongestoverfillstockpackloadsupplyfurnishprovidereplenishrestockrefillblock upbung upstop (up)plugsealcaulkcloseclog (up)chokeobstructoccludedam upOpposite emptyunblockopen
   • ▪ become full: "Elinor's eyes filled with tears"
   • ▪ insert material to block or close (a gap or opening): "road engineers planned to fill the hole with concrete"
   • ▪ block up (a cavity in a tooth) with cement, amalgam, or gold.
   • ▪ (of the wind) blow into (a sail), causing it to curve outwards.
   • ▪ (of a sail) curve out tautly from its supports as the wind blows into it.
   • 2. become an overwhelming presence in; pervade: "a pungent smell of garlic filled the air" Similar pervadespread throughout/throughpermeatesuffusebe diffused throughdiffuse throughimbuepenetratepass throughinfuseperfuseextend throughoutbe disseminated throughflow throughrun throughsaturateimpregnate
   • ▪ occupy or take up (a period of time): "the next few days were filled with meetings"
   • ▪ cause (someone) to experience a strong emotion or feeling: "his presence filled us with foreboding"
   • 3. appoint a person to hold (a vacant post): "the board contacted him to say they had already filled the position"
   • ▪ hold and perform the expected duties of (a post or role): "he had filled the post in an acting capacity for some time" Similar occupyholdtake upbe inhaveinformal:hold down
   • ▪ satisfy or fulfil (a want or need): "community land trusts are a way to fill the pressing need for housing" Similar carry outcompletefulfilexecuteperformimplementdischargebring aboutrare:effectuate
   • 4. be supplied with the items described in (a prescription or order): North American "she needed to fill a prescription"
   • 5. (in poker) complete (a good hand) by drawing the necessary cards.

   noun

   • 1. an amount of something which is as much as one wants or can bear: "we have eaten our fill"
   • 2. an amount of something which will occupy all the space in a container: "a fill of tobacco"
   • ▪ material, typically loose or compacted, which fills a space, especially in building or engineering work: "loose polystyrene fill"
   • ▪ the action of filling something, especially of shading in a region of a computer graphics display.
   • 3. (in popular music) a short interjected phrase on a particular instrument: "country-tinged guitar fills"

   Word Origin Old Englishfyllan (verb), fyllu (noun) of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vullen and German füllen (verbs), Fülle (noun), also to full1.

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • F

     4

   • I

     1

   • L

     1

   • L

     1

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