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

But shares were up less than 1% in Thursday's premarket, which some chalked up to persistent and concerns over capital expenditures unsustainability. —Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026

Ortega's departure was originally chalked up to scheduling with her Netflix series Wednesday, but the actress has since come out to acknowledge that wasn't the case. —Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026

Many of the encounters have been chalked up to innocent mistakes by foreign visitors intent on viewing the northern lights and other attractions in Alaska. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026

With a wry chuckle, McCartney chalks up these cornball elements of his TV specials and other outings to the perils of being surrounded by yes people. —Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 25 Feb. 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