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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ To inform 👤 To substitute 📝 To complete forms 🎨 To shade artwork
to fill in

to fill in

59 1.9
Write the information asked for on a form
  • phrasal verb
  • /fɪl ɪn/
  • UK
translation icon : rellenar
  • OK, so these three boxes were all very easy to fill in, right?
  • fill in the information
  • fill in a questionnaire
  • fill in the blank

Examples

Synonyms

to enter
vsto fill in
267 1.4

To put information into a form or computer

requires physically writing all necessary information on a form rather than recording digitally
to fill out
vsto fill in
  • US
261 1.6

To write all the needed information on a form

focuses on writing necessary information rather than emphasizing the final completion act
to make out
vsto fill in
46 3.7

To write all needed information on a form or document

applies to forms and documents generally rather than narrow paper types
to write out
vsto fill in
25 2.4

Put all the details on a form or paper

focuses on required form information rather than providing general detailed text
to fill in the form
vsto fill in
  • UK
1 1.0

To complete a paper or online form by writing your personal details

describes writing all necessary information generally not only slot placement

Antonyms

to omit
66 3.4

Leave out something, for example a name, on purpose or by accident

to blank out
  • Literature
1 6.4

To remove words or other information from a document to hide them

How Complete

to complete
∞ 1.0
to fill in
  • UK
59 1.9

Surface Forms

fill in infinitive
filled in past
filled in past participle
filling in present participle
fills in third person singular

Morphology

fill + in

The sense of adding shading is a literal instantiation of 'fill' (to make something full by adding contents) combined with 'in' (into/inside), so the meaning of putting color or lines into areas is directly derivable from the constituents. This is a common, compositional phrasal-verb pattern and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely understand it.

Etymology

Fill in a form comes from the exact act of writing into empty boxes on a paper: you fill the blank spaces in with your name, address, or answers. So, to 'fill in' means 'to write all the necessary information on a form'.