Skip to main content
to chalk

to chalk

51 2.5
To write or draw on a surface with a soft stick
  • verb
  • /tʃɔk/
translation icon : marcar con tiza
  • The teacher asked us to chalk the important points on the board during the lecture.

Examples

  • I could see the chalked words on the blackboard: Early Cities: Athens, Rome.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • He would take some chalk on the chalkboard and say, I'm going to start rubbing chalk on the chalkboard.

  • Let's write those down with chalk, which is somewhere.

  • When I need to reach Brill, I chalk the mailbox on 14th and Main.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • She loves to chalk colorful designs on the sidewalk during the summer.

  • Every Saturday, the children gather in the park to chalk drawings on the pavement.

Synonyms

to pencil
vsto chalk
13 1.0

To write or draw with a thin wooden tool that has a graphite tip

use a soft dusty stick that leaves powdery marks
to scribe
vsto chalk
3 7.4

To mark a surface with a sharp point or write something carefully by hand

use a soft dusty stick for visible quick marks rather than precise point work
to crayon
vsto chalk
1 3.9

To draw or color using a wax stick

use a soft dusty stick that leaves powdery marks rather than wax

Idioms

To accept a mistake as a lesson

1 6.3

Two people or things that are completely different from each other

Phrasal Verbs

to chalk up to
  • Informal
30 5.5

Say that something happens because of a particular reason

6 4.6

To record points or a win in a game

6.5

To mark an item as finished by drawing a line or writing a note

To make a simple plan or outline for something

Compounds

chalk line
  • Specialized
2 3.9

A string covered with chalk used to mark a straight line on a surface

1 2.7

Fine powder that appears when someone writes on a blackboard

1 7.0

A talk that uses a blackboard and chalk to explain ideas

7.1

A way of teaching by giving lectures with little student interaction

6.8

A large hole in the ground where people dig out chalk

A colored stick used by artists to make pictures on paper or pavement

French chalk
  • Specialized
8.1

A soft white stick used to mark cloth and remove grease stains

nitro-chalk
  • Specialized
7.6

A fertilizer made from chalk and ammonium nitrate to add nitrogen to soil

4.9

A soft red-brown material used for drawing lines and pictures

tailor's chalk
  • Specialized
6.9

A thin, flat piece of chalk that people who make clothes use to mark cloth before cutting or sewing

Surface Forms

chalk infinitive
chalked past
chalked past participle
chalking present participle
chalks third person singular

Etymology

The verb chalk comes directly from the noun chalk, since people used a piece of that white rock to write or draw. So to chalk something is to mark or write with chalk.