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Glite Dictionary
to chalk up

to chalk up

6 4.6
To record points or a win in a game
  • phrasal verb
  • /tʃɔk ʌp/
translation icon : anotar
  • He chalked up an impressive score in the final round of the tournament.
  • chalk up a victory
  • chalk up a win
  • chalk up success

Examples

  • Both the Men's and Women's teams chalked up wins in their first games of the season tonight.

    Blog text (10)

  • And the Bulldogs could play the game; throughout September and October and on into November, they beat everyone, chalking up a record of 12-0, their best regular season in a generation.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Chalk up another victory for the human spirit.

    Planet of the Apes (1968)

  • Chalk up one for your side.

    It Happened One Night (1934)

  • But we can nonetheless chalk up a victory against the mighty war machine.

    Academic text (2009)

  • He'd chalk up a victory in the Tour DuPont and a handful of stage victories in Europe.

    Blog text (15)

  • The undefeated Bob "Blackbeard" Britton chalks up another victory!

    Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)

  • New Jersey's Joint Underwriting Association chalked up $3 billion in losses before the legislature recently dismantled it.

    Academic text (1991)

  • In her last competition, she chalked up three gold medals, proving her talent.

  • The team managed to chalk up their first win of the season after a tough match.

Synonyms

to score
vsto chalk up
693 1.5

To get points or a grade in a contest

can mean to record or credit a point, score, or victory afterwards
to rack up
vsto chalk up
  • Informal
54 3.6

To collect many points or wins

also applies to single points or individual achievements, not only large totals
to tally
vsto chalk up
18 3.0

To count or add things like points and votes

refers to gaining or crediting points or successes rather than just counting
to notch up
vsto chalk up
  • Informal
1 4.7

Get a higher score, more sales or a win

is used mainly for points or victories in games and competitions

Antonyms

to lose
∞ 1.0

Fail to win a game or contest

miss
73 3.1

A failure to hit or reach a target

How Much

to amass
66 4.8
to rack up
  • Informal
54 3.6
to chalk up
6 4.6
score
842 1.3
gain
  • Specialized
559 2.3

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

chalk + up

The meaning 'to record or gain a point/score' is partially inferable from 'chalk' (to mark or write with chalk) combined with 'up' (indicating accumulation or completion). The connection depends on the cultural metaphor of marking scores with chalk, so learners who know the words may guess the recording/accumulation sense but not all uses (e.g., attributing causes), making it only partially predictable.

Etymology

Chalk up comes from the simple act of using chalk to write points on a board during a game. One popular story says that to 'chalk up' a point was to add it to the score, so today chalk up means 'to record' or 'to achieve' points, wins, or other totals.