fill up

Verb

fill up (third-person singular simple present fills up, present participle filling up, simple past and past participle filled up)

1. (transitive) To make (something) completely full.

   Synonyms:

   jam

2. (intransitive) To fill the tank of a vehicle with fuel.
   • It costs a fortune these days to fill up.
   • "Game over," Waddicor warns. "Look at the fuel gauge. Someone's forgotten to fill up." The heavily laden train has come from Freightliner's Maritime Terminal in Southampton's western docks. Waddicor reckons there might not be enough diesel in the tank to complete the journey.2025 August 20, Paul Clifton, “A driver's eye view of East West Rail”, in RAIL, number 1042, page 30
3. (intransitive) To become completely full.
4. (intransitive) To become tearful as a result of strong emotion.
5. (colloquial, idiomatic) To annoy, or displease, by taunting, or by excessive nagging.
   • The teachers that taught me weren't cool. / You're holding me down, / Turning me 'round, / Filling me up with your rules.1967, Lennon–McCartney, “Getting Better”, in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, performed by The Beatles
6. (transitive) To satisfy the hunger of (someone).
   • Thanks for the chocolate cake – it really filled me up!
7. (intransitive, reflexive) To satisfy one's hunger; to stop being hungry.
   • We've scoured these science and tapped the top experts to help you learn how to do just that. Use these seven simple strategies, and you'll fill up without filling out.2008 October, David Schipper, “Outsmart your stomach: Seven ways to fill your gut—and lose it, too”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 135
8. (slang) To make a full house on the turn or the river.
9. (India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, transitive) To fill in / fill out a form etc.
10. (obsolete, transitive) To make complete, to bring to a full development.
    • Our Father’s Death
      Would fill up all the Guilt of Civil War,
      And cloſe the Scene of Blood.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1