Full of means containing a lot of something, packed with it. Literally, it's used for a cupboard or box holding lots of things: a box full of old photos. Figuratively, it describes a day, a text or a person: a day full of meetings, a report full of mistakes, full of energy.
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full of + noun; a box/day full of + noun; filled with + noun
- Her suitcase was full of books she never had time to read.
- The office was full of new employees on their first day.
- This report is full of useful data for the next meeting.
What changed
First versionThe room was full with boxes after we moved in.
RevisionThe room was full of boxes after we moved in.
With feels like the natural preposition here, partly because filled with uses it. But after full, the preposition is always of: full of boxes. With comes after filled instead: The room was filled with boxes.
Without of, full has its own everyday meaning: I'm full — I've eaten enough. And full of yourself is a fixed expression meaning 'too pleased with yourself': Since his promotion, he's been really full of himself.
Your turn
By the end of the festival, the streets were ___ litter and empty bottles.
Show the answer
full of — The streets were covered in litter and empty bottles after the festival — full of litter. Full with is a mistake: the preposition after full is never with.
Describe a room, a bag or a box that was once packed full of something. Say what it was full of and in what situation.
On the first day of my course, my backpack was full of textbooks, and I could barely close the zip.
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