fill-in

[fil-in]
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

Dictionary.com Unabridged

fill

[fil]
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.
a.
to distend (a sail) by pressure of the wind so as to impart headway to a vessel.
b.
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.
a.
to fall off the wind and proceed on a board.
b.
to brace the yards, so that sails that have been aback will stand full.
28.
fill in,
a.
to supply missing or desired information: Fill in the facts of your business experience.
b.
to complete by adding detail, as a design or drawing: to fill in a sketch with shadow.
c.
to substitute for: to fill in for a colleague who is ill.
d.
to fill with some material: to fill in a crack with putty.
e.
Informal. to supply (someone) with information: Please fill me in on the morning news.
29.
fill out,
a.
to complete (a document, list, etc.) by supplying missing or desired information.
b.
to become larger, fuller, or rounder, as the figure: The children have begun to fill out since I saw them last.
30.
fill up,
a.
to fill completely: to fill up a glass; to fill up a fuel tank.
b.
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
fill·a·ble, adjective
half-filled, adjective
un·filled, adjective
well-filled, adjective

Synonyms
2. crowd, pack, jam, cram. 13. satisfy, answer, fulfill.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Fill in is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fill (fɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb (often foll by up)
1.  (also intr) 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 intr) 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.  chiefly (US), (Canadian) to put together the necessary materials for (a prescription or order)
13.  informal fill the bill to serve or perform adequately
 
—n
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
 
[Old English fyllan; related to Old Frisian fella, Old Norse fylla, Gothic fulljan, Old High German fullen; see full1, fulfil]

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fill
O.E. fyllan, from P.Gmc. *fullijan (cf. O.S. fulljan, O.N. fylla, O.Fris. fella, Du. vullen, Ger. füllen "to fill"), a derivative of adj. *fullaz "full." The related noun meaning "a full supply" is M.E. fille, from O.E. fylle. To fill the bill (1882) was originally U.S. theatrical slang, in reference
to a star whose name would be the only one on a show's poster. Related: Filled; filling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

fill in

  1. Complete something, especially by supplying more information or detail. For example, Be sure to fill in your salary history. It is also put as , 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.

  2. 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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Those in between fill in the spectrum with colours such as green.
The aim is to articulate what has been repressed, to fill in a blank in the
  narrative about ourselves.
Contenders fill in the blank with attention-getting ideas for food-related
  dates.
But it might be possible to fill in gaps in the sensor network using existing
  communications cables.
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