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to the gills

prepositional phrase

Entirely or extremely; to the greatest degree possible.

“He came in with a suitcase, packed to the gills with samples and demonstration products.”

Similar

all the way from soup to nuts in excelsis to the backbone to the bone to the brim to the core to the fullest

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Meanings

prepositional phrase

idiomaticEntirely or extremely; to the greatest degree possible.
He came in with a suitcase, packed to the gills with samples and demonstration products.
1 more example
It’s a film that is utterly maximalist, stuffed to the gills with gadgets, gimmicks, ideas both good and bad. An exhausting, exhilarating watch.
2017 September 19, Gwilym Mumford, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle review – spy sequel reaches new heights of skyscraping silliness”, in the Guardian
Synonyms: all the way, from soup to nuts, in excelsis, to the backbone, to the bone, to the brim, to the core, to the fullest

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositional phraseEntirely or extremely; to the greatest degree possible.

Similar

all the way from soup to nuts in excelsis to the backbone to the bone to the brim to the core to the fullest to the full to the gunnels to the hilt to the marrow to the max to the nines to the nth degree to the tonsils to the top of one's bent top to bottom up to eleven

Also see

to the backbone to the bone to the brim to the core to the full to the gunnels to the hilt to the max to the nines to the nth degree to the tonsils to the top of one's bent up to eleven

Translations

Swedish till taket

till taketTranslations

Cite this entry

APA

to the gills. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20gills

MLA

“to the gills.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20gills. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “to the gills,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20gills.

Source: to the gills on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.