chalk

S2 W2

BrE /tʃɔːk/ AmE /tʃɔːk/

noun / verb en → es

1 BOARD [uncountable] A2

a piece of soft white limestone used for writing on a blackboard or wall

tiza, yeso

  • write sth in chalk

Collocations chalk and talk teaching method · a piece of chalk

  • She wrote her name on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.

    Ella escribió su nombre en el pizarrón con un trozo de tiza.

2 MARK [transitive] B1

to mark something with chalk, or to make a line of chalk on the ground

marcar con tiza, hacer una línea de tiza

  • chalk sth out

Collocations chalk a line on the ground · chalk something out

  • He chalked a line across the floor.

    Él marcó una línea con tiza en el suelo.

3 DRAW [transitive] B1

to draw or write something with chalk on a surface such as a wall, floor, or blackboard

dibujar/describir con tiza

  • chalk sth out

Collocations chalk a message on the wall · chalk something out

  • She chalked her name on the blackboard.

    Ella escribió su nombre en el pizarrón con tiza.

4 COLOR [uncountable] B1

a pale greyish-white colour, like that of chalk

color blanco grisáceo

Collocations chalk color

  • The walls were painted a pale chalk colour.

    Las paredes estaban pintadas de un color blanco grisáceo.

5 ROCK [uncountable] B2

a soft white limestone used for making lime and cement, or as a building material

yeso, caliza blanda

Collocations chalk deposits

  • The area is rich in chalk deposits.

    La zona es rica en depósitos de yeso.

6 COAST [uncountable] C1

a stretch of coast where the cliffs are made of chalk rock

costa con acantilados de caliza blanda

Collocations chalk cliffs

  • The white cliffs of Dover are made of chalk.

    Los acantilados blancos de Dover están hechos de caliza blanda.

7 DUST [uncountable] C1

the dust that comes from chalk, especially when it is rubbed on a surface such as a blackboard or wall

polvo de tiza

Collocations chalk dust

  • The chalk dust made a mess on the floor.

    El polvo de tiza hizo un desastre en el suelo.

8 VERB [transitive] C1

to make something smaller or less important by saying that it is not as bad, serious, or valuable as people think

disminuir la importancia de algo

  • chalk sth down to sth

Collocations chalk something down to something

  • He chalked his poor performance down to lack of sleep.

    Él disminuyó la importancia de su mal rendimiento atribuyéndolo a falta de sueño.

Phrasal verbs

chalk up SCORE / RECORD B2

anotar, registrar

  • We chalked up another victory.

    Anotamos otra victoria.

chalk sth off DISMISS / IGNORE C1

ignorar, desestimar

  • She chalked his absence off to illness.

    Ella ignoró su ausencia atribuyéndola a la enfermedad.

chalk sth out ERASE / REMOVE B2

borrar, eliminar

  • He chalked the old numbers out and wrote new ones.

    Él borró los números antiguos y escribió nuevos.

chalk sth up to sb/sth ATTRIBUTION / CAUSE C1

atribuir a alguien/ algo

  • He chalked his success up to hard work.

    Él atribuyó su éxito al esfuerzo.

chalk sth up as sth CLASSIFICATION / CATEGORIZATION C1

clasificar como algo

  • She chalked her failure up as a learning experience.

    Ella clasificó su fracaso como una experiencia de aprendizaje.

Idioms

chalk and cheese B2

pan y vino

  • They're as different as chalk and cheese.

    Son tan diferentes como el pan y el vino.

chalk it up to experience C1

atribuirlo a la experiencia

  • We can chalk this failure up to experience.

    Podemos atribuir este fracaso a nuestra experiencia.

chalk one's name on the door C1

anunciar su presencia

  • He came to town and chalked his name on the door.

    Él llegó a la ciudad y anunció su presencia.