Fulfil

How to spell fulfil

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce fulfil

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does fulfil mean?

1. verbTo carry out, complete, or satisfy something such as a duty, promise, or requirement.

Fulfil in a sentence

• The company worked hard to fulfil every order before the holidays.

• She returned to college to fulfil a lifelong ambition.

Where does fulfil come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English word, formed in Old English as fullfyllan, a straightforward joining of full meaning 'full' and fyllan meaning 'to fill' or 'to make full'. The literal early sense was therefore 'to fill up completely', and from that physical idea it broadened to the modern senses of carrying something out to completion, satisfying a requirement, or making a promise come true. Both halves descend from the same Germanic stock that gives us the everyday words full and fill, which is precisely where the spelling trap hides. The compound was deliberately trimmed when it settled into English: the first element dropped one of its two L's, so the British spelling keeps just a single L in each syllable, fulfil, even though it was born from full and fill. American English later restored the second element to fulfill, but the inherited British and Canadian form stays lean, which is exactly why writers second-guess how many L's belong where.

How the word is built

• ful- (from full)
• fil (from Old English fyllan: to fill, make full)

British and American spelling

Fulfil is the British spelling. American English spells it fulfill.