Whether to use fulfil vs fulfill actually depends on where you are. The former is the spelling in British English, and the latter is the spelling in American English.
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What Is Fulfill?
Fulfill is a verb (present tense) that comes from the Old English fullfyllan (to fill up or make full). However, that meaning is archaic. If you were to say, “I’m going to fulfill your glass,” you’d probably get a puzzled look in return.
Today’s meaning is to achieve, realize, carry out, bring to completion, etc., and there must be something that’s fulfilled. For example, you can fulfill requirements, fulfill your potential, fulfill a retail order, and so on. Our example sentences will show a wide range of different applications.
Tip: The past tense of fulfill is fulfilled.
Examples:
- Once you fulfill all the registration requirements and guideless, you’ll be able to get your license.
- Leaving the company understaffed and underequipped made it hard for the employees to fulfill their duties.
- To fulfill your goals, it’s a good idea to make a plan for how to get there.
- If your career does not fulfill you, consider making a change.
- Overcoming a hardship is fulfilling.
- Now that your order has been fulfilled, it’s on its way to your home for delivery.
- I need more time to fulfill my promise.
- Before going to market, most food must fulfill several conditions regarding quality and safety.
- Online retailers store orders in giant warehouses to fulfill and ship products.
When and How to Use Fulfill?
There are two key things to keep in mind if you want to use fulfill correctly.
The first is not to use the archaic “fill up” meaning because it would be awkward. You don’t fulfill your car’s gas tank, right?
You should remember that there’s almost always someone or something being fulfilled or doing the fulfilling. All of the examples from the previous section demonstrate this. Even the detail-sparse “I’m fulfilled” implies that something made you that way.
From the sample sentences above, you can also note that to fulfill is to satisfy someone or a set of requirements. It frequently has a connotation of happiness or completion.
What Is Fulfil?
Fulfil is simply the British English spelling of fulfill. Neither word is a misspelling, but if you use it in the wrong setting, people might think it is.
Fulfil or Fulfill: Which One Should You Use?
In countries like the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, New Zealand (NZ), Ireland, and Australia that use British English, you should use fulfil. In the United States and other countries that use American English, like the Philippines, it’s fulfill. The same goes for fulfilment and fulfillment, respectively.
But now things get interesting. Fulfilling is the proper spelling in both the U.K. and the U.S., and writing “fulfiling” in either British or US English is a common mistake.
Trick to Remembering the Correct Spelling
You can associate English cities London and Liverpool with fulfil’s singe l. On the other side of the pond, remember the famous Revolutionary War conflict, the Battle of Bunker Hill. The double l in hill may remind you of the two in fulfill.
Final Thoughts
The nice thing about choosing fulfil vs fulfill is that neither is wrong. Both mean the same thing, and the former is the British English spelling; fulfill is the American English spelling.
