chalkface

C3H4A1L1K5F4A1C3E1

noun

A cliff or quarry exposing chalk, e.g. the White Cliffs of Dover

Scrabble 23
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Meanings

nounchalkface (plural chalkfaces)

plural chalkfaces

  1. geographyA cliff or quarry exposing chalk, e.g. the White Cliffs of Dover
  2. educationThe environment where teaching is carried out, specifically a school.

Origin

From chalk + face. In the education sense, it is a play on coalface (“place where practical work is done”), after the chalk used on school blackboards, and is believed to have been coined by Ted Wragg for his Times Educational Supplement column.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

chalkface. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chalkface

MLA

“chalkface.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chalkface. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chalkface,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chalkface.

Source: chalkface on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.