- fill
-
I. verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fyllan; akin to Old English full full
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1.
a. to put into as much as can be held or conveniently contained <fill a cup with water> b. to supply with a full complement <the class is filled> c. (1) to cause to swell or billow <wind filled the sails> (2) to trim (a sail) to catch the wind d. to raise the level of with fill <filled land> e. to repair the cavities of (teeth) f. to stop up ; obstruct <wreckage filled the channel> g. to stop up the interstices, crevices, or pores of (as cloth, wood, or leather) with a foreign substance 2. a. feed, satiate b. satisfy, fulfill <fills all requirements> c. make out, complete — used with out or in <fill out a form> <fill in the blanks> d. to draw the playing cards necessary to complete (as a straight or flush in poker) 3. a. to occupy the whole of <smoke filled the room> b. to spread through <music filled the air> c. to make full <a mind filled with fantasies> 4. a. to possess and perform the duties of ; hold <fill an office> b. to place a person in <fill a vacancy> 5. to supply as directed <fill a prescription> 6. to cover the surface of with a layer of precious metal intransitive verb to become full II. noun Date: before 12th century 1. a full supply; especially a quantity that satisfies or satiates <eat your fill> 2. something that fills: as a. material used to fill a receptacle, cavity, passage, or low place b. a bit of instrumental music that fills the pauses between phrases (as of a vocalist or soloist) c. artificial light used in photography to reduce or eliminate shadows — often used attributively <fill flash>
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.