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

• accredit
• ascribe
• attribute
• credit
• impute
• lay
• put down

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

Economist Torsten Slok chalked up the misgivings to storm clouds out of the White House as President Donald Trump and his lieutenant Elon Musk seek to slash the federal bureaucracy through job cuts. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2025

Chief among other factors, Napoleon’s ultimate defeat at Waterloo in 1815 can be chalked up to this dearth of capable personnel. —Pat Fallon, National Review, 4 Feb. 2025

By moving quickly to survey performance on America’s existing icebreaker program and encourage big new shipbuilding investments, Trump staff can, within weeks, chalk up some big cost-cutting and capability-boosting wins. —Craig Hooper, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025

Purdy completed a season-low 45.2% of his passes and chalked up only 142 yards for zero touchdowns and an interception in Thursday's paint-drying 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024

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