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Glite Dictionary
dibs

dibs

8 8.5
A spoken claim to have something before others
  • noun
  • /dɪbz/
  • Informal
translation icon : derechos
  • During the game, he always shouts dibs to claim the best toys first.

It was renamed from SSL to TLS purely because Microsoft didn't want Netscape having dibs on the name essentially.

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Examples

  • I call dibs on the front seat of the car.

  • You're saying listen, we call dibs on the moon.

  • I mean, usually you get first dibs and all that stuff.

  • So by all rights, you know, they've got dibs, you might say.

  • And can I call dibs if if you let me have this and this amazing brick of naan bread?

  • It's time for who's got dibs on the best Memphis ribs.

  • Dibs on Buffy.

    Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (2006)

  • I CALL DIBS ON THE FRONT.

    The Spy Next Door (2010)

  • DIBS ON THE TV WHEN THAT'S OVER.

    The Christmas Bunny (2010)

  • After everyone finished their tasks, she declared dibs on the last piece of cake.

Synonyms

dib
vsdibs
  • Slang
58 9.1

A quick spoken claim to keep something for yourself

is the same idea but usually spoken as a plural form
pre-emption
vsdibs
  • Formal
8.4

A right to buy or take something before others, usually because of a law

is claimed informally by speaking not by formal law

Surface Forms

dibs singular
dibs plural

Etymology

Dibs probably comes from an old children's game using small stones called dibstones ('small stones'), where winning gave a player the right to something. So when people say 'dibs' today they are 'claiming' something for themselves before others.