chockablock

USAGE SUMMARY

The word "chockablock" is a correct and usable word in written English.
It is an informal phrase used to describe something that is crowded or filled to the brim, as in "The restaurant was chockablock with customers."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Every neighborhood suddenly needed a gastropub, and every gastropub was chockablock with porcine iconography.

The New Yorker

For the home cook, it's a one-stop shop, chockablock with tools and accessories, from shrimp deveiners and soup socks to lemons, panko, dried seaweed sheets, and mango-lassi-flavored saltwater taffy.

The New Yorker

This five-story emporium is chockablock with everything a man needs to fix, or break, anything in the house.

The New Yorker

The Republican Party is chockablock with supine politicians of this sort, and that helps to explain why it has lost the popular vote in five of the last six Presidential elections.

The New Yorker

Gabay's is on the ground floor, in a tiny space chockablock with pocketbooks, shoes, coats, sweaters, dresses, and the like (225 First Avenue, at 13th Street).

The New Yorker

A bookstore seems like a benign place: a little musty, chockablock with ideas waiting to unscroll themselves, frequented by introverted types.

The New Yorker

In a handsomely minimal haute-bourgeois apartment (designed by Mark Thompson), a turf war takes place over a blood-red carpet, a coffee table chockablock with art books, and two elegant glass vases overflowing with white tulips.

The New Yorker

Still-Life with Rabbit A wooden table is chockablock with fruit, cheese, and a glass of wine.

The New Yorker

And, in that same vein, are the states that are chockablock with these nattering nabobs of nonsense more successful at winning it?

The New Yorker

On a Tuesday, the town-house setting, chockablock with old books and knickknacks, silver-framed family photographs, red drapes, and cascading crystal chandeliers, seems wonderfully intimate; on a Thursday, a diner took in the room and said sadly, "It's so cheeseball".

The New Yorker

Plucked from its niche, it claimed to be a thirst quencher chockablock with gingko biloba and sundry antioxidants reputed to enhance memory.

The New Yorker

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "chockablock" to add color to your writing when describing a space or object that is very full or crowded, especially when aiming for a slightly informal tone.

Common error

Avoid using "chockablock" in highly formal or professional documents. Opt for more neutral alternatives like "completely full" or "filled to capacity" to maintain a professional tone.

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "chockablock" is as an adjective or adverb, modifying a noun or verb to describe a state of being completely full or crowded. As Ludwig AI confirms, it is indeed correct, and you can look at the examples for more clarity on its usage.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

100%

Less common in

Science

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "chockablock" is a valid and widely used term, as Ludwig AI confirms, meaning completely full or crowded. While grammatically correct, it leans towards informal contexts, making it best suited for casual writing or news articles rather than formal documents. Its purpose is to vividly describe fullness, and it appears frequently in news and media. When aiming for a more formal tone, alternatives such as "completely full" or "filled to capacity" are more appropriate.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

jam-packed

This is a more informal synonym, emphasizing the tightness of the filling.

crammed full

Similar to "chockablock", but with a stronger sense of being forcefully filled.

completely full

This is a more formal and literal way of saying something is full.

overcrowded

This is a straightforward term for excessive crowding.

filled to capacity

This phrase emphasizes that something has reached its maximum limit.

packed to the rafters

This idiom suggests extreme crowding, especially in a building.

bursting at the seams

This phrase implies an overflow or inability to contain something.

brimming with

This phrase suggests being filled to the point of overflowing, often with something positive.

teeming with

This suggests an abundance or overflow of living things.

stuffed to the gills

This idiom emphasizes an uncomfortable level of fullness, often related to eating.

FAQs

How can I use "chockablock" in a sentence?

You can use "chockablock" to describe something that is completely full or crowded. For instance, "The stadium was "jam-packed" /s/jam+packed with fans" or "Her schedule is "filled to capacity" /s/filled+to+capacity with meetings."

What's a good alternative to "chockablock"?

Depending on the context, you could use alternatives like "completely full", "jam-packed", or "filled to the brim".

Is "chockablock" appropriate for formal writing?

While "chockablock" is a valid word, it's generally considered informal. In formal writing, opt for more neutral alternatives like "completely full" or "filled to capacity".

What does "chockablock" mean?

"Chockablock" means completely full or crowded, filled to capacity. It can describe physical spaces, schedules, or even abstract concepts like a mind being "full of ideas" /s/full+of+ideas.