chalky
Americanadjective
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of or like chalk.
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of a chalklike consistency.
chalky soil.
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without resonance, color, warmth, etc..
several high tones that were quite chalky.
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Photography. lacking in detail, due to extreme contrast.
a chalky print.
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Sports Slang. relating to the competitor considered most likely to win by the oddsmakers.
Sports betting is boring if all you make are chalky picks—put some money on a long shot and live a little!
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of chalky
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English chalki, chalky; see origin at chalk, -y 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fiber-drink concoctions of years past were lumpy or chalky and generally tasted awful, even if they managed to deliver more fiber itself.
From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026
This year, when only four double-digit seeds reached the second round, the chalky strategy turned out to be the right one.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
One example is the River Wandle, which emerges from chalky springs in Carshalton Ponds, south-east London, near Festival Walk.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
"We're connecting tiny chalky organisms to planetary carbon flows," says Dr. Guerreiro.
From Science Daily • Oct. 10, 2025
Pillars of chalky light reached up from the ground and illuminated the chapel, which glowed, moonlike, against the night sky.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
