Fill with and fill in have different meanings. One describes adding contents, while the other often means complete information or occupy space.
Use fill with when something becomes full of a substance, object, or feeling. Use fill in when completing a form, adding missing information, or temporarily replacing someone. Fill in can also describe occupying empty space or time.
These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.
Use fill with when putting something into a container or space until it is full.
Fill with can describe a place or person becoming full of a feeling, sound, light, or similar effect.
Use fill in when writing missing information in a document or system.
Use fill in for when taking another person's place for a short time.
The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.
Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.
Use fill in or fill out when completing documents.
✕ Please fill the form with your details. ✓ Please fill in the form with your details.Fill with usually needs the thing being added.
✕ They filled the box. ✓ They filled the box with books.Fill in means complete information. Fill in for means replace someone.
✕ She filled in her colleague today. ✓ She filled in for her colleague today.Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.
Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.
Often yes for forms and documents. Fill out is especially common in American English.
Yes. For example, “We played cards to fill in the afternoon.”
No. You can say “fill the bottle” or “fill the bottle with water,” depending on how specific you want to be.
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