Fulfill

How to spell fulfill

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce fulfill

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does fulfill mean?

1. verbTo carry out, satisfy, or bring to completion a duty, promise, requirement, or desire.

Fulfill in a sentence

• The contractor promised to fulfill every term of the agreement.

• Taking this course will fulfill the final requirement for her degree.

Where does fulfill come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes straight from Old English, where fullfyllan combined full, meaning 'complete' or 'entire', with fyllan, meaning 'to fill' or 'to make full'. The literal idea was to 'fill something up completely', and from that physical image the figurative meanings grew: to carry out a promise, to satisfy a requirement, or to bring a hope to completion. Both halves are native Germanic words, which is why the term feels so plain and old in English, unlike its Latin-derived rivals such as 'complete' or 'satisfy'. The spelling trap lives in the double-l decision at each end: the prefix keeps only one l (ful-, not full-), while the American and Canadian form doubles the final l (fulfill), reversing the pattern many writers expect. Across the Atlantic the British keep a single l at the end (fulfil), so the contrast itself is a frequent source of error.

How the word is built

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

British and American spelling

Fulfill is the American spelling. British English spells it fulfil.