Ask Difference

Fill vs. Occupy — What's the Difference?

By Fiza Rafique & Maham Liaqat — Updated on May 18, 2024
"Fill" means to make something full or to put something into a space, while "occupy" refers to residing in or taking control of a space or position.
Fill vs. Occupy — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Fill and Occupy

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Key Differences

"Fill" typically refers to putting a substance into a space until it is full. For example, you can fill a glass with water. "Occupy," on the other hand, means to take up space or reside in a place. For example, you can occupy a room.
"Fill" is often used in contexts involving liquids or materials being placed into a container or area. For instance, you can fill a bottle with milk. Whereas "occupy" is more commonly used in contexts where someone or something is taking up space or holding a position, such as occupying a chair.
When you "fill" something, the emphasis is on the process of making it full. This is common in phrases like "fill the tank" or "fill the gap." In contrast, when you "occupy" something, the emphasis is on the state of being present or in possession, as seen in phrases like "occupy the house" or "occupy the post."
"Fill" can be temporary, as it often refers to completing a space or volume that might later be emptied. For example, you can fill a bag with groceries and then empty it. "Occupy" suggests a more stable or continuous state of presence, such as occupying a territory or office.
In a job context, "fill" can mean to complete a vacancy, such as filling a position. "Occupy" in a similar context would mean holding a position, such as occupying a role within an organization.
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Comparison Chart

Definition

To make something full
To reside in or take control of

Context

Often used with liquids/materials
Often used with spaces/positions

Emphasis

Process of making full
State of presence/control

Duration

Often temporary
More stable or continuous

Job Context

Completing a vacancy
Holding a position

Compare with Definitions

Fill

To occupy a space completely.
The room filled with laughter.

Occupy

To reside in a place.
They occupy an apartment downtown.

Fill

To perform a role.
They hired him to fill the vacant position.

Occupy

To hold a position.
She occupies a senior role in the company.

Fill

To meet a requirement.
She filled all the prerequisites for the course.

Occupy

To engage attention or time.
He occupies himself with various hobbies.

Fill

To put something into (a container, for example) to capacity or to a desired level
Fill a glass with milk.
Filled the tub with water.

Occupy

To fill up (time or space)
A lecture that occupied three hours.

Fill

To supply or provide to the fullest extent
Filled the mall with new stores.

Occupy

To dwell or reside in (an apartment, for example).

Fill

To build up the level of (low-lying land) with material such as earth or gravel.

Occupy

To hold or fill (an office or position).

Fill

To stop or plug up (an opening, for example).

Occupy

To seize possession of and maintain control over forcibly or by conquest
The troops occupied the city.

Fill

To repair a cavity of (a tooth).

Occupy

To engage or employ the attention or concentration of
Occupied the children with coloring books.

Fill

To add a foreign substance to (cloth or wood, for example).

Occupy

To take or use.

Fill

To flow or move into (a container or area), often to capacity
Water is filling the basement. Fans are filling the stadium.

Occupy

To fill.
The film occupied three hours of my time.

Fill

To pervade
Music filled the room.

Occupy

To possess or use the time or capacity of; to engage the service of.
The film occupied me for three hours.
I occupy myself with gardening for a few hours every day.

Fill

To satiate, as with food and drink
The guests filled themselves with pie.

Occupy

To fill or hold (an official position or role).
I occupy the post of deputy cat catcher.

Fill

To engage or occupy completely
A song that filled me with nostalgia.

Occupy

To hold the attention of.
I occupied her friend while he made his proposal.

Fill

To satisfy or meet; fulfill
Fill the requirements.

Occupy

(transitive) To take or use space.

Fill

To supply what is specified by or required for
Fill a prescription.
Fill an order.

Occupy

To fill space.
The historic mansion occupied two city blocks.

Fill

To put a person into (a job or position)
We filled the job with a new hire.

Occupy

To live or reside in.

Fill

To discharge the duties of; occupy
How long has she filled that post?.

Occupy

(military) To have, or to have taken, possession or control of (a territory).

Fill

To cover the surface of (an inexpensive metal) with a layer of precious metal, such as gold.

Occupy

(surveying) To place the theodolite or total station at (a point).

Fill

To cause (a sail) to swell.

Occupy

To have sexual intercourse with.

Fill

To adjust (a yard) so that wind will cause a sail to swell.

Occupy

(obsolete) To do business in; to busy oneself with.

Fill

To become full
The basement is filling with water.

Occupy

(obsolete) To use; to expend; to make use of.

Fill

An amount needed to make full, complete, or satisfied
Eat one's fill.

Occupy

To take or hold possession of; to hold or keep for use; to possess.
Woe occupieth the fine [end] of our gladness.
The better apartments were already occupied.

Fill

Material for filling a container, cavity, or passage.

Occupy

To hold, or fill, the dimensions of; to take up the room or space of; to cover or fill; as, the camp occupies five acres of ground.

Fill

A built-up piece of land; an embankment.

Occupy

To possess or use the time or capacity of; to engage the service of; to employ; to busy.
An archbishop may have cause to occupy more chaplains than six.
They occupied themselves about the Sabbath.

Fill

The material, such as earth or gravel, used for this.

Occupy

To do business in; to busy one's self with.
All the ships of the sea, with their mariners, were in thee to occupy the merchandise.
Not able to occupy their old crafts.

Fill

(transitive) To occupy fully, to take up all of.

Occupy

To use; to expend; to make use of.
All the gold that was occupied for the work.
They occupy not money themselves.

Fill

(transitive) To add contents to (a container, cavity, or the like) so that it is full.

Occupy

To have sexual intercourse with.

Fill

To enter (something), making it full.

Occupy

To hold possession; to be an occupant.

Fill

(intransitive) To become full.
The bucket filled with rain;
The sails fill with wind

Occupy

To follow business; to traffic.

Fill

(intransitive) To become pervaded with something.
My heart filled with joy.

Occupy

Be present in; be inside of

Fill

(transitive) To satisfy or obey (an order, request, or requirement).
The pharmacist filled my prescription for penicillin.
We can't let the library close! It fills a great need in the community.

Occupy

Keep busy with;
She busies herself with her butterfly collection

Fill

(transitive) To install someone, or be installed, in (a position or office), eliminating a vacancy.
Sorry, no more applicants. The position has been filled.

Occupy

Live (in a certain place)

Fill

(transitive) To treat (a tooth) by adding a dental filling to it.
Dr. Smith filled Jim's cavity with silver amalgam.

Occupy

Occupy the whole of;
The liquid fills the container

Fill

(transitive) To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.

Occupy

Be on the mind of;
I worry about the second Germanic consonant

Fill

To trim (a yard) so that the wind blows on the after side of the sails.

Occupy

As of time or space;
It took three hours to get to work this morning
This event occupied a very short time

Fill

To have sexual intercourse with (a female).
Did you fill that girl last night?

Occupy

March aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation;
Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939

Fill

(after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount.
Don't feed him any more: he's had his fill.

Occupy

Engage or engross wholly;
Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely

Fill

An amount that fills a container.
The mixer returned to the plant for another fill.

Occupy

To take up space.
The boxes occupy the entire storage room.

Fill

The filling of a container or area.
That machine can do 20 fills a minute.
This paint program supports lines, circles, and textured fills.

Occupy

To take control of.
The army occupied the territory.

Fill

Inexpensive material used to occupy empty spaces, especially in construction.
The ruins of earlier buildings were used as fill for more recent construction.

Fill

(archaeology) Soil and/or human-created debris discovered within a cavity or cut in the layers and exposed by excavation; fill soil.

Fill

An embankment, as in railroad construction, to fill a hollow or ravine; also, the place which is to be filled.

Fill

(music) A short passage, riff, or rhythmic sound that helps to keep the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody.
Bass fill

Fill

One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.

Fill

One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.

Fill

A full supply, as much as supplies want; as much as gives complete satisfaction.
I'll bear thee hence, where I may weep my fill.

Fill

That which fills; filling; filler; specif., an embankment, as in railroad construction, to fill a hollow or ravine; also, the place which is to be filled.

Fill

To make full; to supply with as much as can be held or contained; to put or pour into, till no more can be received; to occupy the whole capacity of.
The rain also filleth the pools.
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. Anf they filled them up to the brim.

Fill

To furnish an abudant supply to; to furnish with as mush as is desired or desirable; to occupy the whole of; to swarm in or overrun.
And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas.
The Syrians filled the country.

Fill

To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.
Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fillso great a multitude?
Things that are sweet and fat are more filling.

Fill

To possess and perform the duties of; to officiate in, as an incumbent; to occupy; to hold; as, a king fills a throne; the president fills the office of chief magistrate; the speaker of the House fills the chair.

Fill

To supply with an incumbent; as, to fill an office or a vacancy.

Fill

To press and dilate, as a sail; as, the wind filled the sails.

Fill

To make an embankment in, or raise the level of (a low place), with earth or gravel.

Fill

To become full; to have the whole capacity occupied; to have an abundant supply; to be satiated; as, corn fills well in a warm season; the sail fills with the wind.

Fill

To fill a cup or glass for drinking.
Give me some wine; fill full.

Fill

A quantity sufficient to satisfy;
He ate his fill of potatoes
She had heard her fill of gossip

Fill

Any material that fills a space or container;
There was not enough fill for the trench

Fill

Make full, also in a metaphorical sense;
Fill a container
Fill the child with pride

Fill

Become full;
The pool slowly filled with water
The theater filled up slowly

Fill

Occupy the whole of;
The liquid fills the container

Fill

Assume, as of positions or roles;
She took the job as director of development

Fill

Fill or meet a want or need

Fill

Appoint someone to (a position or a job)

Fill

Eat until one is sated;
He filled up on turkey

Fill

Fill to satisfaction;
I am sated

Fill

Plug with a substance;
Fill a cavity

Fill

To make something full.
She filled the vase with water.

Fill

To supply a need.
He filled the order promptly.

Common Curiosities

Is "fill" used in job contexts?

Yes, "fill" can refer to completing a vacancy or job position.

Can you fill a position?

Yes, you can fill a job position by hiring someone.

Can "fill" be used to refer to taking up space?

Yes, "fill" can refer to occupying a space completely, such as filling a room with furniture.

Can "occupy" refer to a temporary state?

"Occupy" usually implies a more stable or continuous state, rather than temporary.

Does "occupy" suggest control?

Yes, "occupy" often implies control or presence in a space.

Can liquids "occupy" a container?

It's more common to say liquids "fill" a container.

What does "occupy" mean?

"Occupy" means to reside in or take control of a space or position.

What does "fill" mean?

"Fill" means to make something full by adding a substance to it.

Can you occupy a position?

Yes, you can occupy a job position by holding that role.

Is "fill" used in cooking?

Yes, you can fill a pie with filling.

Is "occupy" used in military contexts?

Yes, "occupy" can mean taking control of a territory or area.

Is "occupy" used in legal terms?

Yes, "occupy" can be used in legal contexts to describe residing in a property.

Does "fill" imply permanence?

No, "fill" often suggests a temporary state until the space is emptied again.

Can people "fill" a space?

Yes, people can fill a space, like filling a room with guests.

Can people "occupy" a space?

Yes, people can occupy a space, such as occupying a house.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Fiza Rafique
Fiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat

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