fit the bill

present singular third person fits the bill · participle present fitting the bill · alternative fill the bill

1. idiomaticTo satisfy a need; to serve a purpose; to fulfill specified requirements.

   Near-synonym: make the grade

   1 more example

   Robert Plomin, a behavioral geneticist at King's College London, adds that new research suggests humans with autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder tend to marry each other, and that the new method can explore whether those choices, too, are rooted in DNA. Robinson hopes to use his method to test more similarities in couples, including his own marriage. "Yes, we both have Ph.D.s and we're both tall," he says. "We fit the bill."

   2017 January 9, Ann Gibbons, “Your choice of a life partner is no accident”, in Science

   Synonyms: do it, make the grade

2. idiomaticintransitiveTo match the description.

   The Vermont State Police spent the first few months treating Brianna’s case with scepticism concerning foul play. Brianna was profiled as a teen with an unstable living situation and a habit of moving between houses. To the police, she fit the bill for a runaway.

   2026 July 16, Nicholas Muhoro, “Inside the 2004 Brianna Maitland Case: One of Vermont’s Most Haunting Mysteries”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 21 Jul 2026