bubble in
B2 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To color in the little circle on a test sheet to show your answer.
Literal meaning: To fill something in by placing it inside a bubble shape.
Meanings
1 B2 informal
To shade or fill in a circular bubble on a standardized answer sheet to indicate a chosen response.
"Make sure you bubble in your answers completely or the scanner won't read them correctly."
Grammar: separable
2 B2 informal
To enter personal information on an official form by filling in bubble-style fields.
"Bubble in your student ID number at the top of the test booklet before you start."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Primarily used in American English in educational or testing contexts, referring to filling in OMR (optical mark recognition) answer sheets. Common in US high school and college settings.
Commonly used with
answer choice letter response number sheet
Forms
Base
bubble in
I/you/we/they
3rd person
bubbles in
he/she/it
Past simple
bubbled in
yesterday
Past participle
bubbled in
have + pp
-ing form
bubbling in
continuous
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