Chalk or chock?
chalk is a noun meaning “A soft, white, powdery limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃)”; chock is a noun meaning “Any object used as a wedge or filler, especially when placed behind a wheel to…”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) chalk is about 6.8 times as common as chock.
What is the difference between chalk and chock?
| chalk | chock | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb, adverb, interjection |
| Meaning | A soft, white, powdery limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃) A piece of chalk, or nowadays processed compressed gypsum (calcium sulfate, CaSO₄), that is used for drawing and for writing on a blackboard (chalkboard) To apply chalk to anything, such as the tip of a billiard cue | Any object used as a wedge or filler, especially when placed behind a wheel to prevent it from rolling Any fitting or fixture used to restrict movement, especially movement of a line; traditionally was a fixture near a bulwark with two horns pointing towards… To stop or fasten, as with a wedge, or block; to scotch |
| Example | chalk cliffs are not recommended for climbing | none recorded |
| Forms | chalks | chocks |
| Pronunciation | /t͡ʃɔːk/ /t͡ʃoːk/ /t͡ʃɔk/ | /tʃɒk/ /t͡ʃɑk/ |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words | about once in every 1 million words |
Sources: chalk and chock in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of chalk and chock
chalk
- 1
A soft, white, powdery limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃)
chalk cliffs are not recommended for climbing
- 2
To apply chalk to anything, such as the tip of a billiard cue
chalk your hands before climbing
- 3
A piece of chalk, or nowadays processed compressed gypsum (calcium sulfate, CaSO₄), that is used for drawing and for writing on a blackboard (chalkboard)
- 4
To record something, as on a blackboard, using chalk
- 5
Tailor's chalk
- 6
To use powdered chalk to mark the lines on a playing field
- 7
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…
when working out your next move, it's a good idea to get some more chalk from the bag
- 8
To record a score or event, as if on a chalkboard
chock
- 1
Any object used as a wedge or filler, especially when placed behind a wheel to prevent it from rolling
- 2
To stop or fasten, as with a wedge, or block; to scotch
- 3
Entirely; quite
- 4
Representing a dull sound
- 5
To make a dull sound
- 6
USAn illicit, fermented alcoholic beverage brewed on-site
- 7
Any fitting or fixture used to restrict movement, especially movement of a line; traditionally was a fixture near a bulwark with two horns pointing towards each other, with a gap between where the…
- 8
To insert a line in a chock
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, chalk or chock?
chalk appears 4.9 times per million words; chock about once in every 1 million words.
chalk 4.9 times per million wordschock about once in every 1 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search chalk vs chock?
“chalk vs chock” is searched about 20 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“chock vs chalk”, “chalk or chock”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.