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

Talarico’s success so far can partly be chalked up to voters’ apprehensions toward Paxton, who faced questions in his past over corruption, including being impeached by his own party in the Texas legislature. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Industry analysts and insiders chalk up the reversal of fortune to several factors. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

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

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