# chalk up to

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/chalk-up-to
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To attribute or account for something; to ascribe.

## 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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.