ENGLISH
REFERENCE

in full

prep. phr..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

prep. phr.. to do something completely or pay the total amount of money you owe.

prep. phr.. to the complete or entire extent; specifically used in financial contexts to indicate the settlement of a total debt or in legal contexts for verbatim reproduction.


SIMPLE

The bill must be paid in full by Friday.

CONTEXTUAL

After years of saving, they were finally able to pay off their mortgage in full.

COMPLEX

The witness's statement was read out in full to ensure that no nuance of the testimony was lost on the jury.

Usage

commonly follows verbs like 'pay', 'refund', 'repay', or 'read'.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'in part' or 'partially'; it often functions as an adverbial phrase at the end of a clause to emphasize completeness.

Pitfall

I paid the debt in fully.I paid the debt in full.the phrase uses the adjective 'full' as a noun equivalent; do not use the adverb 'fully' after the preposition 'in'.

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