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

Pearl Koven, a constituent services specialist in the California Senate, had chalked up 10%. — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026

On Wednesday, the Clean Clothes Campaign chalked up Hugo Boss’s return to the Pakistan Accord as a victory. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026

Reasons for Stanfield’s departure haven’t been disclosed; Savage’s are chalked up to scheduling conflicts. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2026

Heatherly contributed 16 assists and five digs, while Youngstown State commit Ava Calle chalked up 10 digs and Natalie DeMatteo added five. — Tony Baranek, Chicago Tribune, 22 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