Noun The teacher handed her a piece of chalk and asked her to write the answer on the chalkboard. He put chalk marks on the stage to show the actors where they should stand. They drew pictures on the sidewalk with colored chalks. Verb She chalked a message on the side of the barn. He chalked the stage to show the actors where they should stand.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Red, white, and blue balloons were inflated and the nicknames of two of the teens were scrawled in yellow and purple chalk on pavement. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 June 2022 Scrawled in chalk on the door are figures for mortar shells, smoke shells, shrapnel shells, flares. Andrea Rosa And Jamey Keaten, Anchorage Daily News, 21 June 2022 Scrawled in chalk on the door are figures for mortar shells, smoke shells, shrapnel shells, flares. John Leicester And David Keyton, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2022 Messages were inscribed on posters and in chalk on the sidewalk.New York Times, 4 June 2022 Framed posters show smiling faces, leaning against walls covered with hearts drawn and names written in chalk. Travis Caldwell, CNN, 1 June 2022 Veteran contributing artist Eric Drooker chose to depict the tragedy in stark terms: the crime-scene shapes of outlined bodies rendered in chalk — that instrument of would-be classroom innocence. Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 26 May 2022 Lay out a course around the lawn by marking trees and large rocks in chalk (or use chairs, buckets, or baskets). Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 6 May 2022 People walking their dogs paused to take in the somber scene Tuesday, while other mourners left messages in chalk and with spray paint.oregonlive, 22 Feb. 2022
Verb
Big business and government organizations can insist on returning to in-person and chalk any losses up to the Great Resignation. Edward Tuorinsky, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 Turn your too-sunny deck or patio into a shady retreat with Peaceful Patios' attached vinyl pergola that won't fade or chalk. Samantha S. Thorpe, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 July 2022 Apple would later reverse that decision and chalk it up to a misunderstanding. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 13 July 2022 Nonetheless, there are signs throughout the city of small steps forward: chalk messages of #HPStrong on sidewalks, makeshift memorials, and scores of water bottles, coffee and treats for police manning the crime scene. Taylor Glascock And Kristan Lieb For Cnn, CNN, 11 July 2022 If Levin prevails, J Street will chalk it up as a major win. Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 19 Apr. 2022 So chalk this recent run up to bad luck, bad timing, and finding a bad person. Wayne And Wanda, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2022 My instinct, though, is not to decry those differences as evidence of inauthenticity, but rather to chalk them up to a different cultural reality.New York Times, 6 May 2022 But to chalk all this anxiety up to Musk in particular, and to his loose-cannon persona, is to miss the bigger picture. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English cealc, from Latin calc-, calx lime; akin to Greek chalix pebble
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a