- [uncountable]
a type of soft white stone 白垩 the chalk cliffs of southern England 英格兰南部的白垩质峭壁
Oxford Collocations Dictionarychalk + noun- bed
- cliff
- downs
- …
- chalk and cheese
- [uncountable, countable]
a substance similar to chalk made into white or coloured sticks for writing or drawing （白色或彩色的）粉笔 a piece/stick of chalk 一支粉笔 drawing diagrams with chalk on the blackboard 用粉笔在黑板上画图表 a box of coloured chalks 一盒彩色粉笔
Extra ExamplesTopics Educationc1She had scrawled a note in chalk across the blackboard. 她用粉笔在黑板上潦草地写了个通知。 to write with chalk 用粉笔写字
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- coloured/colored
- white
- sidewalk
- …
- piece
- stick
- drawing
- line
- mark
- …
- in chalk
- with chalk
Word OriginOld English cealc (also denoting lime), related to Dutch kalk and German Kalk, from Latin calx, ‘lime’, probably from Greek khalix ‘pebble, limestone’.
Idioms
chalk and cheese
- (British English)
if two people or things are like chalk and cheese or as different as chalk and cheese, they are completely different from each other 截然不同；天渊之别 Frank and I will never get along. We’re chalk and cheese. 弗兰克和我永远也合不来。我们是粉笔加奶酪。 My two horses are as different as chalk and cheese. 我的两匹马迥然不同。
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spic and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
not by a long chalk (British English)
(also not by a long shot North American English, British English)