■ noun a white soft earthy limestone (calcium carbonate) formed from the skeletal remains of sea creatures.
↘a similar substance (calcium sulphate), made into sticks and used for drawing or writing.
■ verb
1》 draw or write with ~.
↘rub the tip of (a snooker cue) with ~.
2》 Brit. charge (drinks bought in a pub or bar) to a person's account.
3》 ( ~ something up ) achieve something noteworthy.
Phrases
as different as ~ and cheese Brit. fundamentally different or incompatible.
by a long ~ Brit. by far.
~ and talk Brit. teaching by traditional methods focusing on the blackboard.
not by a long ~ Brit. not at all. [with ref. to the ~ used for marking up scores in competitive games.]
Derivatives
~iness noun
~y adjective
Origin
OE cealc , from L. calx (see calx ).