# fulfil

Pronunciation: say "fuul-FIL" /fʊlˈfɪl/

## Verb

1. To do what an obligation, requirement or rule demands, carrying it out in full; also, to meet a need or perform a role or function.
   - Simple: To do what you promised or what a rule asks, or to meet a need or do a job.
   - _The company failed to fulfil the terms of its contract and was taken to court._
   - _Applicants who fulfil the criteria will be invited for an interview._
2. To make something hoped for, promised or foretold actually happen, as when an ambition is achieved or a prophecy comes true.
   - Simple: To make something that was hoped for, promised or predicted come true.
   - _After years of evening classes, he finally fulfilled his ambition of qualifying as a solicitor._
   - _Their relegation in May seemed to fulfil every gloomy prediction the pundits had made at the start of the season._
3. To give someone a deep sense of emotional or creative satisfaction, or to develop one's own talents as fully as possible.
   - Simple: To make someone feel happy and satisfied, or to use all your talents as fully as you can.
   - _She left the law firm to fulfil her potential as a painter._
   - _Volunteering at the animal shelter fulfils him in a way his office job never did._
4. In business, to carry out an order by preparing and supplying the goods requested.
   - Simple: In business, to supply the goods a customer has ordered.
   - _Orders placed before 2 p.m. are fulfilled from our Northampton warehouse and arrive the next day._
   - _We fulfil orders for more than two hundred independent brands, packing and posting everything the same day._

## Verb

5. To fill something completely, so that it holds as much as it possibly can. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To fill something completely, right up to the top.

## Origin

Middle English had the verb as fulfillen, which came from Old English fullfyllan, 'to fill full'. In English terms it is ful- plus fill.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fulfil (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).