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to chalk

7 2.5

To write or draw on a surface with a soft stick

verb
/tʃɔk/

: 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

11 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 chalk it up to experience

Informal

1 7.2

To accept a mistake as a lesson

chalk and cheese

1 6.3

Two people or things that are completely different from each other

Phrasal Verbs

to chalk up to

Informal

34 5.5

Say that something happens because of a particular reason

to chalk up

6 4.6

To record points or a win in a game

to chalk off

1 6.5

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

to chalk out

1 6.1

To make a simple plan or outline for something

Compounds

chalk line

Specialized

3 3.9

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

chalk dust

2 2.7

Fine powder that appears when someone writes on a blackboard

chalk talk

1 7.0

A talk that uses a blackboard and chalk to explain ideas

drawing chalk

1 2.7

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

red chalk

1 4.9

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

chalk and talk

Jargon

1 7.1

A way of teaching by giving lectures with little student interaction

chalk pit

1 6.8

A large hole in the ground where people dig out chalk

French chalk

Specialized

1 8.1

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

tailor's chalk

Specialized

1 6.9

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

nitro-chalk

Specialized

7.6

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

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.