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Glite Dictionary
to fill to the brim

to fill to the brim

8 2.7
To make something so full that nothing else can fit
  • idiom
: llenar hasta el borde
  • The box was filled to the brim with old photographs from their travels.
  • filled your life to the brim

A blessed goblet from the temple of Calibre, filled to the brim with goblin faces.

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Examples

  • To one side of him is his Christmas treasure trunk filled to the brim with dolls, toys, and decorations.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • And the guy comes back and fills the Viking helmet to the brim with red wine.

  • Take that crown off your head, Will, and fill it to the brim.

    Robin Hood (2010)

  • That bowl is still filled to the brim.

    Terrifier 2 (2022)

  • Fill it to the brim.

    Tooth Fairy 2 (2012)

  • My locker, filled to the brim with gum!

    Assassination of a High School President (2008)

  • The box is filled to the brim with seasoning.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The products are filled to the brim with incredible ingredients that give the skin this intense hydration.

  • The trunk is filled to the brim with glittering gold coins.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I heaped the bowl with millet and filled the water container to the brim.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

to fill
vsto fill to the brim
∞ 1.0

To make a place full by putting people or things into it

is the idiom stressing total capacity rather than simple fullness
to cram
vsto fill to the brim
105 3.2

Push things or people into a small space until nothing fits

is the general idiom for full capacity without implying force
to fill up
vsto fill to the brim
18 1.8

Make something have no empty space or cause a strong feeling in someone

is a more vivid idiom stressing absolute capacity
to top off
vsto fill to the brim
  • Informal
9 3.6

Fill something to the top until it almost overflows

is the phrase about full capacity but can mean almost full
to saturate
vsto fill to the brim
8 5.2

Make something so full of liquid or color that it can take no more

is the common phrase about total capacity rather than absorption or infusion
to jampack
vsto fill to the brim
1 4.5

Fill a place or container until there is no room left

is the broader term for reaching maximum capacity rather than crowding action
to chock up
vsto fill to the brim
  • UK
1 7.4

To fill a space so full that nothing more can be added

is the phrase that focuses on complete capacity rather than packing method

Antonyms

to empty
213 1.0

To remove everything from a container or place

to drain
203 1.0

To let liquid flow away from something

How Full

to overflow
27 2.9
to fill to the brim
8 2.7
to fill
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

fill to the brim infinitive
filled to the brim past
filled to the brim past participle
filling to the brim present participle
fills to the brim third person singular

Morphology

fill + to + the + brim

The phrase is compositionally built from 'fill' (make full) + 'to the brim' (up to the vessel's upper edge), so a learner who knows those words can infer the sense of making something completely full. The construction is literal and cross-linguistically common (fill/up to the rim), so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Fill to the brim comes from the picture of filling a cup or glass until the liquid reaches the very top—the brim—so nothing more can be added without spilling. So, it now means 'to make something completely full'.