fill-in

[fil-in] /ˈfɪlˌɪn/
noun
1.
a person or thing that fills in, as a substitute, replacement, or insertion:
The company used a fill-in for workers on vacation.
2.
a brief, informative summary; a rundown.
Origin
1915-20; noun use of verb phrase fill in

fill

[fil] /fɪl/
verb (used with object)
1.
to make full; put as much as can be held into:
to fill a jar with water.
2.
to occupy to the full capacity:
Water filled the basin. The crowd filled the hall.
3.
to supply to an extreme degree or plentifully:
to fill a house with furniture; to fill the heart with joy.
4.
to satisfy fully the hunger of; satiate:
The roast beef filled the diners.
5.
to put into a receptacle:
to fill sand into a pail.
6.
to be plentiful throughout:
Fish filled the rivers.
7.
to extend throughout; pervade completely:
The odor filled the room.
8.
to furnish with an occupant:
The landlord filled the vacancy yesterday.
9.
to provide (an office or opening) with an incumbent:
The company is eager to fill the controllership.
10.
to occupy and perform the duties of (a vacancy, position, post, etc.).
11.
to supply the requirements or contents of (an order), as for goods; execute.
12.
to supply (a blank space) with written matter, decorative work, etc.
13.
to meet satisfactorily, as requirements:
This book fills a great need.
14.
to make up, compound, or otherwise provide the contents of (a medical prescription).
15.
to stop up or close (a cavity, hole, etc.):
to fill a tooth.
16.
Cookery. to insert a filling into:
to fill cupcakes with custard.
17.
Nautical.
  1. to distend (a sail) by pressure of the wind so as to impart headway to a vessel.
  2. to brace (a yard) so that the sail will catch the wind on its after side.
18.
to adulterate:
to fill soaps with water.
19.
Civil Engineering, Building Trades. to build up the level of (an area) with earth, stones, etc.
verb (used without object)
20.
to become full:
The hall filled rapidly. Our eyes filled with tears.
21.
to increase in atmospheric pressure:
a filling cyclone.
22.
to become distended, as sails with the wind.
noun
23.
a full supply; enough to satisfy want or desire:
to eat one's fill.
24.
an amount of something sufficient for filling; charge.
25.
Civil Engineering, Building Trades. a quantity of earth, stones, etc., for building up the level of an area of ground:
These houses were built on fill.
Compare backfill.
26.
the feed and water in the digestive tract of a livestock animal, especially that consumed before marketing.
Verb phrases
27.
fill away, Nautical.
  1. to fall off the wind and proceed on a board.
  2. to brace the yards, so that sails that have been aback will stand full.
28.
fill in,
  1. to supply missing or desired information:
    Fill in the facts of your business experience.
  2. to complete by adding detail, as a design or drawing:
    to fill in a sketch with shadow.
  3. to substitute for:
    to fill in for a colleague who is ill.
  4. to fill with some material:
    to fill in a crack with putty.
  5. Informal. to supply (someone) with information:
    Please fill me in on the morning news.
29.
fill out,
  1. to complete (a document, list, etc.) by supplying missing or desired information.
  2. to become larger, fuller, or rounder, as the figure:
    The children have begun to fill out since I saw them last.
30.
fill up,
  1. to fill completely:
    to fill up a glass; to fill up a fuel tank.
  2. to become completely filled:
    The riverbed filled up as a result of the steady rains.
Idioms
31.
fill and stand on, Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a tack after being hove to or halted facing the wind; fill away.
32.
fill the bill. bill1 (def 16).
Origin
before 900; Middle English fillen, Old English fyllan; cognate with German füllen, Gothic fulljan to make full; see full1
Related forms
fillable, adjective
half-filled, adjective
unfilled, adjective
well-filled, adjective
Synonyms
2. crowd, pack, jam, cram. 13. satisfy, answer, fulfill.
Examples from the web for fill in
  • Checklists seem lowly and simplistic, but they help fill in for the gaps in our brains and between our brains.
  • Contenders fill in the blank with attention-getting ideas for food-related dates.
  • Our perceptual system makes this inference automatically, using educated guesses to fill in the gaps and make perception possible.
  • But scientists are now discovering that data from a suite of animal proxies has the potential to fill in some of these holes.
  • We rely on our imagination to fill in the gaps our limited perceptions allow.
  • You'll be able to add more advanced panels with built-in inverters to fill in the gaps.
  • Of course no one was around to see if it happened that way,and no other way, but human imagination can fill in the blanks.
  • So maybe an advanced degree does not make teachers better at helping students fill in bubbles.
  • As mental conveniences, they are created to fill in for missing acceptable explanations.
  • Those in between fill in the spectrum with colours such as green.
British Dictionary definitions for fill in

fill in

verb (adverb)
1.
(transitive) to complete (a form, drawing, etc)
2.
(intransitive) to act as a substitute: a girl is filling in while the typist is away
3.
(transitive) to put material into (a hole or cavity), esp so as to make it level with a surface
4.
(transitive) (informal) to inform with facts or news
5.
(transitive) (Brit, slang) to attack and injure severely
noun fill-in
6.
a substitute
7.
(US, informal) a briefing to complete one's understanding

fill

/fɪl/
verb (mainly transitive) often foll by up
1.
(also intransitive) to make or become full: to fill up a bottle, the bath fills in two minutes
2.
to occupy the whole of: the party filled two floors of the house
3.
to plug (a gap, crevice, cavity, etc)
4.
to meet (a requirement or need) satisfactorily
5.
to cover (a page or blank space) with writing, drawing, etc
6.
to hold and perform the duties of (an office or position)
7.
to appoint or elect an occupant to (an office or position)
8.
(building trades) to build up (ground) with fill
9.
(also intransitive) to swell or cause to swell with wind, as in manoeuvring the sails of a sailing vessel
10.
to increase the bulk of by adding an inferior substance
11.
(poker) to complete (a full house, etc) by drawing the cards needed
12.
(mainly US & Canadian) to put together the necessary materials for (a prescription or order)
13.
(informal) fill the bill, to serve or perform adequately
noun
14.
material such as gravel, stones, etc, used to bring an area of ground up to a required level
15.
one's fill, the quantity needed to satisfy one: to eat your fill
See also fill away, fill in, fill out, fill up
Word Origin
Old English fyllan; related to Old Frisian fella, Old Norse fylla, Gothic fulljan, Old High German fullen; see full1, fulfil
Word Origin and History for fill in

fill

v.

Old English fyllan "fill up, replenish, satisfy," from Proto-Germanic *fullijan (cf. Old Saxon fulljan, Old Norse fylla, Old Frisian fella, Dutch vullen, German füllen "to fill"), a derivative of adj. *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Related: Filled.

To fill the bill (1882) originally was U.S. theatrical slang, in reference to a star whose name would be the only one on a show's poster. To fill out "write in required matter" is recorded from 1880. Fill-in "substitute" (n.) is from 1918.

n.

"a full supply," mid-13c., fille, from Old English fylle, from Proto-Germanic *fullin- (cf. Old High German fulli, German Fülle, Old Norse fyllr), noun of state from *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Meaning "extra material in music" is from 1934.

Slang definitions & phrases for fill in

fill in

verb phrase

To substitute; replace temporarily: I'll fill in for you (1940s+)


fill-in

noun
  1. A summary account; information meant to supply what one does not know: A friend gives me a fill-in on how Costello is running the country (1945+)
  2. A substitute, esp a substitute worker: Get a fill-in, I gotta split (1920s+)

Idioms and Phrases with fill in

fill in

.
Complete something, especially by supplying more information or detail. For example, Be sure to fill in your salary history . It is also put as fill in the blanks , as in We'll rely on Mary to fill in the blanks . Yet another related usage is fill someone in , as in I couldn't attend, so will you fill me in? The first term dates from the mid-1800s; the others from the first half of the 1900s. Also see fill out
.
Also, fill in for . Take someone's place, substitute for. For example, The understudy had to fill in at the last minute , or I can't come but my wife will fill in for me . Also see fill someone's shoes

fill

also see:
also see under:
full