chalk up

verb

chalked up; chalking up; chalks up

transitive verb

1
: ascribe, credit
chalked up his failures to inexperience
2
: attain, achieve
chalk up another victory

Examples of chalk up in a Sentence

let's chalk up her weird behavior to simple nervousness chalked up a record in singles tennis that is likely to stand for a long time
Recent Examples on the Web Amazon chalked up a weak forecast in August to election distraction that would dampen demand for online shopping, a comment some mocked as an excuse. Melissa Repko, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2024 Biden's slim victory could be chalked up to him collectively carrying those counties by 15 points, nearly doubling Hillary Clinton's 8-point edge in 2016 against Trump, while doing only slightly better than Clinton in the rest of Georgia. Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2024 The collapse could be largely chalked up to a hyperconcentration in clients and, frankly, horrible timing. Brett Owens, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024 Huge financial imbalances between the U.S. and China can be chalked up to weaknesses in each nation's domestic economy — as opposed to being primarily driven by unfair Chinese trade practices, according to a new piece from International Monetary Fund economists. Neil Irwin, Axios, 12 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for chalk up 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chalk up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of chalk up was in 1877

Dictionary Entries Near chalk up

Cite this Entry

“Chalk up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chalk%20up. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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