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

Synonyms of chalk up

• attribute
• ascribe

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

Our success so far has been 100 percent chalked up to using the constraint of our assortment as our superpower. — Jenny B. Fine, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026

Some of the Chrysler Building’s dramatic loss of value can be chalked up to its aging infrastructure and the shaky market for not-new office space. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 7 Oct. 2026

Cramer chalked up Tuesday's decline in Grail to profit-taking. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026

But Tip Toe is a drama for an age in which Leo at one point muses that queerphobia can no longer be chalked up to a lack of visibility. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for chalk up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup