fit the bill

English

Alternative forms

fill the bill

Etymology

From earlier fill the bill, perhaps from the program (or bill) of theatrical acts.

Pronunciation

Audio (Australia): (file)

Verb

fit the bill (third-person singular simple present fits the bill, present participle fitting the bill, simple past and past participle fit the bill)

(idiomatic) To satisfy a need; to serve a purpose; to fulfill specified requirements.
Synonym: do it

Near-synonym: make the grade
- 2017 January 9, Ann Gibbons, “Your choice of a life partner is no accident”, in Science‎^[1]:
  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."
(idiomatic, intransitive) To match the description.
- 2026 July 16, Nicholas Muhoro, “Inside the 2004 Brianna Maitland Case: One of Vermont’s Most Haunting Mysteries”, in Skip Boring‎^[2], archived from the original on 21 July 2026:
  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.

Translations

to satisfy a need; to serve a purpose; to fulfill specified requirements