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Glite Dictionary
📝 To complete forms 💪 To become fuller
to fill out

to fill out

14 2.8
To become or make something fuller by adding more
  • phrasal verb
  • /fɪl aʊt/
translation icon : rellenar
  • So we are getting some new pieces to fill out the gaps that exist.
  • fill out paperwork
  • fill out an application
  • fill out a bikini

So we are getting some new pieces to fill out the gaps that exist.

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Examples

  • Her face glowed with health, her cheeks already filling out so that he might barely have known her.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • And, uh, this-- his character really helps fill out the story.

    Rudy (1993)

  • Well, I'm gonna need you to fill this out for me, and we'll be able to get you in as soon as we can.

    Alice (2022)

  • The muscles her hands touched were bigger now, and his body had filled out with maturity.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Singers help fill out the sound when the group begins to explore unusual instrumental combinations.

    Academic text (2000)

  • They're doing beautiful work helping fill out the character of The Mandalorian.

  • Robert was going through a normal growth spurt, filling out, becoming more muscular; his voice was deeper too.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • She filled out the application form completely before submitting it.

  • In the past year, he has really filled out and gained more muscle.

  • The new furniture helped fill out the living room, making it feel more inviting.

Synonyms

to fatten
vsto fill out
45 2.2

To make an animal gain weight and a sauce taste richer by giving more or richer food

is broader applying to objects bodies and content becoming fuller or more developed
to flesh out
vsto fill out
15 4.0

To add more details to an idea, plan, or argument

applies to making bodies, objects, or content fuller or more developed
to round out
vsto fill out
15 3.5

Make something more complete by adding parts

focuses on completeness by adding parts not physical roundness or size
to fatten up
vsto fill out
10 2.3

To give extra food so a person or animal gains weight

is more general used for adding bulk or completing shapes and content
to plump
vsto fill out
5 3.8

To make someone or something fuller and rounder

includes that physical fullness but also covers making ideas or content more complete
to pad out
vsto fill out
  • Informal
1 6.5

To add extra not needed words or details to make a text longer

can add material to improve or complete rather than merely lengthen uselessly
to plump out
vsto fill out
  • UK
6.1

To make someone or something rounder and fuller

also applies to becoming more complete in content or development not only size
to fatten out
vsto fill out
4.9

To make an animal or person gain weight

focuses on gaining fat or bulk rather than making ideas or objects more complete

Antonyms

to empty
179 1.0

To remove everything from a container or place

to deplete
13 6.3

To use up almost all of something so little is left

How Full

to balloon
21 4.7
to fatten
45 2.2
to fill out
14 2.8
to thin
38 1.4
to slim down
5 3.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

fill + out

The verb 'fill' (add contents) combined with the particle 'out' (to completion) gives a reasonably predictable sense of making something complete by adding information, so a learner who knows the constituents can often infer the meaning when the object is a form. However, the extension from physical filling to completing an abstract document is a metaphorical shift and the exact collocational use (fill out vs. fill in, register differences) is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Fill out has the literal image of something becoming fuller: imagine a young player whose clothes start to fit tighter as their body fills out, or a story that gets more details when you add to it. So it means 'to become fuller' or 'to add more'.