Idiom idiom
chalk up to
Meaning
To attribute or account for something; to ascribe.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I chalk up my success to hard work and luck.”
“The team chalked up their loss to poor planning and bad weather.”
“Critics chalked up the novel's enduring appeal to its unflinching honesty about grief and human connection.”
Anchors to
- 01
chalk and cheese
Said of things that are very different, though possibly superficially alike.
- 02
chalk off
To record a score or event, as if on a chalkboard.
- 03
chalk something up to experience
To take a lesson from a bad outcome instead of grieving it.
- 04
walk one's chalks
To depart; to go away without ceremony.
- 05
walk the chalk
To keep a correct course in manners or morals.
Last updated August 10, 2026