Fill up or Fill in or Fill out

Fill up or Fill in or Fill out

What is the difference between fill up, fill in and fill out?
They are all phrasal verbs.
To fill is to make something full or occupied. To put something in an empty space, to make it full.

Fill up

The same as to fill, but to a complete stage.
To make full. To make something become full.

• I need to fill up the car tank. (Filling to completion).
• I need to fill up my car with gas before I go on my road trip.
• I stopped at the gas station to fill up my tank.
• Fill the bottle up with as much as it will take.
• I filled up my water bottle before I left the house.
• I am really thirsty, please fill up to the brim.
• I need to fill up the bird feeder with seed. The birds are hungry.
• When all of them arrived, they quickly filled the Convention Center up.
• The teacher had us fill up our workbooks with answers.
• Don’t fill yourself up with junk food.
• I filled up my shopping cart with groceries, I don’t have to come back for a month!
• We filled up the bowl with chips for the party.
• I am not hungry anymore, that bread filled me up.
• It is so hot outside today, the kids filled up the kiddie pool with water.

Fill in

The same as filling out to complete a form.
To make something full.

• Please fill in this form.
• Can you please fill in this for with your information.
• This form must be filled in completely before you can enter the process.
• You have to fill in the forms first then send it to the insurance company.
• Did she fill in the form to apply for the scholarship?
• They have to fill in all the holes in the road.
• He had to fill in his dental cavity, he was in so much pain last week.
• Please fill in these roles with sand.

Someone is substituting someone else for a job or role. 
To temporarily replace someone if they cannot do their job or role.

In this example, let’s suppose that Ana in on vacation and Mary is sick.

• Joanna, can you please fill in for Stefany?
• Mark, would you please fill in for John today.
• Andrew is filling in for Joseph this week, he is sick.
• She is filling in for Mary, who is sick today.
• I need extra money, I am filling in for Mike today, tomorrow and next week.
• Did you fill in for Joana while she was on vacation? I heard she traveled to Europe!

When you tell someone the information that they are missing or not knowing.
To fill someone in on something. To tell someone the missing information.

Study this example, as Stefany is coming back from her vacation:

• Joana, please fill Stefany in on what happened while she was on vacation.
• Could you fill me in on what’s going on?
• i have no idea of what is going on, can you please fill me in, I am lost!
• I was on vacation last week, can someone please fill me in on what happened what I was gone?

Fill out

The same as filling in to complete a form or official document.
Usually, these forms have spaces for you to fill out.

• Please fill out this form.
• Fill out the job application form as soon as possible.
• The job application form must be filled out completely before you submit it to the company.
• Fill out the questionnaire about your health.
• Please fill out the registration form for the conference now, the deadline is today.
• Fill out the survey about customer satisfaction.
• If you fill out their internet survey you get a free hamburger with fries and a soda!
• The prescription has to be filled out by an authorized doctor within 72 hours.
• Fill out the form for a student loan next year, then email it to the bank.
• I don’t want to fill out this form again, it is the third time already!
• Can someone please help me fill out this complex form, it has all kinds of weird questions.
• Please fill out these three forms then return here for the evaluation.

To grow bigger, to become larger or thicker.

• Wow, have you been working out? You really filled out.
• His figure filled out in middle age. Now he started to run and exercise everyday.
• After a few months of eating healthy, her cheeks had filled out.
• Her face has filled out since her pregnancy.
• His waistline has filled out since he started working out.
• The company has filled out significantly in the last year. They will have to restructure soon.
• The school district’s student population has filled out over the past decade.
• The company’s budget has filled out significantly since they started accepting outside investments.

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