chalk
UK /t͡ʃɔːk/ · US /t͡ʃɔk/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms chalks chalking chalked chaulk
- noun (uncountable) A soft, white, powdery limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃). “chalk cliffs are not recommended for climbing”
- noun (countable) A piece of chalk, or nowadays processed compressed gypsum (calcium sulfate, CaSO₄), that is used for drawing and for writing on a blackboard (chalkboard).
- noun (countable) Tailor's chalk.
- noun (uncountable, climbing, gymnastics) A white powdery substance used to prevent hands slipping from holds when climbing, or losing grip in weight-lifting or gymnastics, sometimes but not always limestone-chalk, often magnesium carbonate (MgCO₃). “when working out your next move, it's a good idea to get some more chalk from the bag”
- noun (US, military, countable) A platoon-sized group of airborne soldiers.
- noun (US, sports, chiefly basketball, horse racing) The favorite in a sporting event.
- noun (US, sports, chiefly basketball) The prediction that there will be no upsets, and the favored competitor will win.
- verb To apply chalk to anything, such as the tip of a billiard cue. “chalk your hands before climbing”
- verb To record something, as on a blackboard, using chalk.
- verb To use powdered chalk to mark the lines on a playing field.
- verb (figurative) To record a score or event, as if on a chalkboard.
- verb To manure (land) with chalk.
- verb To make white, as if with chalk; to make pale; to bleach.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A suburban village attached to the east side of Gravesend, Gravesham borough, Kent, England (OS grid ref TQ6773).
Synonyms
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Etymology
Inherited from Middle English chalk, chalke, from Old English ċealc, from Proto-West Germanic *kalk, borrowed from Latin calx (“limestone”), again borrowed from Ancient Greek χάλιξ (khálix, “pebble”). Doublet of calx and cauk.
From early Middle English Celc, from Old English ċealc (“chalk”)
Webster’s 1913
- noun A soft, earthy substance, of a white, grayish, or yellowish white color, consisting of calcium carbonate, and having the same composition as common limestone.
- noun Finely prepared chalk, used as a drawing implement; also, by extension, a compound, as of clay and black lead, or the like, used in the same manner. See Crayon. Black chalk, a mineral of a bluish color, of a slaty texture, and soiling the fingers when handled; a variety of argillaceous slate.
- verb To rub or mark with chalk.
- verb To manure with chalk, as land. Morimer.
Etymology [AS. cealc lime, from L. calx limestone. See Calz, and Cawk.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “chalk”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details