full

Less common meanings

8. 8
   emotionaladjective

   Overcome with strong feelings; brimming with emotion.

   Her heart was full at the sight of her child's first steps.

   Too full for words, he simply embraced his old friend.

   UsageOften in my heart is full or too full for words.

   Similarovercome, overwhelmed, moved

9. 9
   bed sizeadjectiveUSus

   Describing a bed, mattress, or bedding in the standard size between twin and queen, wide enough for two people.

   My first apartment had room for a full bed and not much else.

   The store had queen sheets in that color but no full ones.

   UsageA full bed is the size many sellers call a double; the sheets fit the same mattress.

   Similardouble

   Note

   An American size name for beds and for the sheets and covers sold to fit them. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Full is an American bed-size designation. en.wikipedia.org
10. 10
    plump shapeadjective

    Rounded and plump, with a generous shape.

    The portrait emphasized her full figure.

    Ripe tomatoes hung full and heavy on the vine.

    UsageA full figure is often a polite way to say plump; full lips is neutral.

    Similarplump, rounded, ample, curvy, voluptuous

    Oppositethin, slim, slender

11. 11
    richadjective

    Having depth and body; rich in flavor, sound, or color.

    The wine is full on the palate, with notes of dark fruit.

    Her voice was full and resonant in the hall.

    Similarrich, deep, rounded, resonant

    Oppositethin, light

12. 12
    wide cutadjective

    Cut wide or with ample folds and pleats, allowing comfortable room.

    The gown's full skirt required yards of fabric.

    These slacks have a full cut that doesn't bind at the knee.

    Similarloose, wide, ample, voluminous, generous

    Oppositetight, narrow, slim

    Note

    A dressmaker's word: full describes a cut that leaves room, through extra width or through folds and pleats, as in a full pleated skirt. Fullness is something built into the pattern on purpose, not a matter of the wearer's size. That is why it suits clothing meant to give, such as garments worn during pregnancy. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Fullness is deliberately added to garment patterns to provide extra room or create design features. dresspatternmaking.com
    • Pleats and related construction features provide fullness that allows maternity clothing to expand. files.eric.ed.gov
13. 13
    same parentsadjective

    Of a brother or sister, sharing both parents with another sibling rather than only one.

    Although they were raised apart, DNA tests showed the two men were full brothers.

    She has one full sibling and three half siblings from her father's second marriage.

    UsageAdded mostly when half siblings make the difference matter: full brother, full sister.

14. 14
    moon phasenoun

    The phase of the moon when its entire visible face is illuminated.

    UsageMostly in the full of the moon; most writers now say full moon.

    Note

    Older writers used the bare noun for the moon freely. Francis Bacon wrote of the brain growing moister "upon the full of the moon", and Joseph Hall gave the Church "her fulls and wanings". Hall's plural is worth noticing, because it treats each full as a recurring event. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Francis Bacon used the noun full in writing about the brain growing moister at the full moon. en.wiktionary.org
    • Joseph Hall described the Church as having "her fulls and wanings", using full in the plural. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    moon phaseadjective

    Of the moon, having its entire visible face illuminated.

    The tides run highest when the moon is full or new.

    A full moon lit the whole valley.

    Oppositenew

16. 16
    noununcountable

    The greatest extent or highest degree of something, the moment of complete fullness, or as much as one can take.

    She used every one of her talents to the full in the new job.

    They were determined to live life to the full.

    UsageMostly in the set phrase to the full (or to the fullest): live life to the full.

    Similarpeak, height, maximum, utmost

    Note

    A noun with its own lineage: Old English fyllu, "fullness, fill, plenty", rather than the adjective itself. Shakespeare's "at full of tide" shows the older sense of a high point, the same idea behind the moon's phase. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The noun descends from Old English fyllu, meaning fullness, fill or plenty, through a lineage distinct from the adjective's. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted phrase occurs in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and describes the tide at its fullest. en.wikisource.org
17. 17
    verbintransitive

    To become full or completely lit, as the moon does when it reaches its brightest phase.

    "The moon fulls to-night, don't it?"

    1918, Kate Douglas Wiggin, The Story Of Waitstill Baxter

    "By the black cave of Atropos, when the moon fulls, keep thy tryst!"

    1905, Annie Fellows Johnston, The Little Colonel's Christmas Vacation

    Oppositewane

    Note

    A verb that sounds odd to modern ears but turns up in plain prose. The New York Times wrote in 1888 that the September moon "fulls on the 20th", and a character in Kate Douglas Wiggin's The Story of Waitstill Baxter asks whether the moon fulls tonight. Its noun relative is the moon's full phase. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The New York Times used the quoted wording about the September moon in 1888; Wiktionary identifies the article as September 20, 1888. en.wiktionary.org
    • Kate Douglas Wiggin wrote The Story of Waitstill Baxter. gutenberg.org
    • A character asks whether the moon fulls that night; the speaker is Deacon Baxter. gutenberg.org
18. 18
    adjective

    With one's attention and thoughts absorbed by a matter, and the feelings stirred by it.

    She came home full of the news that her sister was getting married.

    The students were full of the project, eager to share every detail.

    UsageUsed as full of + a topic of eager talk: came home full of the news.

    Similarabsorbed, engrossed, preoccupied

    Note

    Here full of names a preoccupation rather than a content: she's full of her latest project means she can hardly talk of anything else. Locke used it the same way, with everyone full of the miracles done by cold baths. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • John Locke used 'full of' for preoccupation when writing about the miracles done by cold baths. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    squarelyadverb

    Squarely and directly, so that something is hit or faced head-on.

    The punch caught the boxer full on the jaw.

    Oncoming headlights shone full in her eyes as she crossed the road.

    UsageFollowed by a preposition and target: full on the jaw, full in the face. Fully does not fit here.

    Similarsquarely, directly, straight

    Note

    It is separate from the "completely, very" adverb, which measures degree rather than direction.

20. 20
    adjectiveobsolete

    Having the mind well stocked with ideas, knowledge, and information.

    Reading maketh a full man.

    1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Studies”

    Note

    An obsolete sense that describes a well-furnished mind. Francis Bacon shows it at work in "Of Studies" (1597): "Reading maketh a full man." There the adjective stands alone before man, with nothing naming what fills him. Today the idea needs a complement, as in the "abounding with" use: full of learning, full of ideas. A bare "full man" now reads as a deliberate echo of Bacon. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The obsolete sense describes a mind stocked with ideas and knowledge. en.wiktionary.org
    • Francis Bacon’s “Of Studies” was first published in 1597. gutenberg.org
    • Bacon writes “Reading maketh a full man.” columbia.edu
    • “Full” comes before “man”; the observation that it has no complement is correct. gutenberg.org
21. 21
    twisting flipnouncountable

    In gymnastics, diving, and freestyle skiing, a flip (often a backflip) performed with one complete twist in the air.

    The gymnast added a full to raise her difficulty score.

    He nailed the full on his dismount and the crowd cheered.

    Note

    A gymnast's unit of rotation: one complete turn in the air, added to a flip and counted as an element in its own right. Coaches and judges speak of adding a full the way one adds a skill to a routine. Divers and freestyle skiers use the word for the same twist. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • A full combines a flip with one complete, 360-degree twist. members.usagym.org
    • The resulting skill counts as an element in a gymnastics routine. members.usagym.org
22. 22
    drunkadjectiveAustralia

    Drunk; intoxicated from drinking alcohol.

    By the end of the reception he was so full he could barely find the door.

    Half the crowd had been on the beers all afternoon and were full before the band even started.

    UsageEasily mistaken for full after eating, so make the drinking context plain.

    Similardrunk, intoxicated, plastered, sloshed, hammered

    Oppositesober

    Note

    A word for drunk that is chiefly Australian, though not only that. At a 1925 hearing before Subcommittee No. 1 of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, a witness was pressed on whether a judge had been full, with a tilted hat as the only sign. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The exchange concerned proceedings of Subcommittee No. 1 of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary. en.wiktionary.org
    • A witness was questioned about describing the judge as full, with his tilted hat cited as the only indication. en.wiktionary.org
23. 23
    poker handadjective

    Used of the three same-rank cards that form part of a full house.

    By the river he was aces full and knew the pot was his.

    Holding tens full, she raised confidently before the showdown.

    UsageFollows its noun: kings full, nines full of aces.

    Note

    The rank before full is the three of a kind, and the rank after of, when it is spoken, is the pair. Players often drop the pair entirely, as in I'll beat him with my kings full. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • In a full-house name, the rank before 'full' denotes the three of a kind, and the rank after 'of' denotes the pair. en.wikipedia.org
24. 24
    adjectiveobsolete

    Pregnant; carrying offspring after being impregnated.

    Note

    Dryden's translation of Virgil (1697) shows the construction: full of names the father, so that Ilia is "full of Mars". The sense is obsolete, and a modern reader would likely take the phrase as the "absorbed in" meaning. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • John Dryden translated Virgil's works into English verse. openbook.lib.utah.edu
    • The translation was first published in 1697. openbook.lib.utah.edu
    • Dryden's translation describes Ilia as pregnant by Mars using the exact phrase 'full of Mars'. en.wikisource.org
25. 25
    firm up clothverbtransitive

    To make woven cloth denser and firmer by soaking, beating, and pressing it.

    The weavers fulled the newly made cloth to render it dense and weatherproof.

    After the cloth is woven, they full it so the fibers mat together into a dense fabric.

    Similarwaulk, walk, tuck

    Note

    The cloth-maker's full is a third, unrelated word, separate from the baptism verb. It comes from Old French fouler, "to tread, stamp", which goes back to Latin fullō, "a fuller". The treading root explains the method: wet cloth was stamped or beaten until it thickened. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The cloth-making verb and the baptism verb have separate etymologies. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cloth-making verb derives through French from Old French fouler, meaning to tread or stamp. en.wiktionary.org
    • The French word ultimately derives from Latin fullō, meaning a fuller. en.wiktionary.org
    • Fulling involved pounding or treading wet cloth to thicken it. en.wikipedia.org
26. 26
    verbobsoletetransitive

    To baptize a person; to administer the rite of baptism to someone.

    And thy diſciples fulleden men in thy name, in forgiueneſſe of her ſinnes.

    1610, John Foxe, “An Old Ancient Writing Intituled, The Praier and Complaint of the Ploughman”

    Similarbaptize, christen

    Note

    This is a different word that happens to share the spelling. It comes from Old English fullian or fulwian, built from full- and a verb meaning "to make holy", with the noun fulluht, "baptism", beside it. A medieval prayer reprinted in John Foxe's Acts and Monuments has disciples who "fulleden men in thy name", an older past-tense form. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

    • The baptism verb has a separate origin in Old English fullian or fulwian. en.wiktionary.org
    • The Old English verb combines full- with a verb meaning to make holy. en.wiktionary.org
    • The second element means to hallow or consecrate. en.wiktionary.org
    • Old English fulluht is a noun meaning baptism. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted prayer is medieval in origin. en.wikipedia.org
    • John Foxe included the prayer in Acts and Monuments. en.wikipedia.org
    • The prayer says that Christ's disciples 'fulleden men in thy name', using fulleden as a past-tense verb. godrules.net
27. 27
    adjective

    In category theory, said of a subcategory that includes all morphisms between its objects that exist in the parent category.
28. 28
    adjective

    In category theory, said of a functor that is surjective as a map of morphisms between corresponding hom-sets.