dibs

See also: Dibs and DIBs

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪbz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪbz

Etymology 1

Since the early 19th century, of disputed origin. Most commonly thought to be from dibstones (“counters used in a game with the same name”). Also from dib (“to tap”) or related to northern English dip (“small depression in the ground”), or a shortened version of divide.

Noun

dibs (uncountable)

1. (informal) The right to use or enjoy something exclusively or before anyone else.

   I call dibs on the hammock!

   Who's got dibs on the chips?

   • 2011 March 23, “We asked mayoral candidates: Do you support 'dibs' on parking spots?”, in Chicago Sun-Times:

     Del Valle has the blessing of a garage, so he doesn't have to claim “dibs” on shoveled street spots himself, he said.

   • 2012 February 16, “Our View: Public Employees Bill of Rights Act all wrong”, in Appeal-Democrat:

     It aims to give unionized California government workers "more workplace discipline protections and first dibs on state government work," as the Sacramento Bee put it.

Synonyms

• bags (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland)

Derived terms

• first dibs

Translations

the right to use or enjoy something exclusively or before anyone else

• Danish: helle for
• Finnish: varaus (fi), apus
• French: prems (fr) m, preums (fr) m, (Switzerland) prims (fr), (Canada) shotgun (fr)
• German: Vorrecht (de) n
• Icelandic: pant
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fus (no)

• Polish: zaklepywać impf (verb), zaklepać (pl) pf (verb)
• Russian: чур (ru) (čur)
• Serbo-Croatian: pik (sh) m
• Spanish: primeras (es) f pl
• Swedish: pax (sv), tjing (sv)

Interjection

dibs

1. (informal) Used to claim this right

Translations

said to reserve to the right to something before anyone else

• Finnish: varaan (fi), mä (fi), mulle (fi), apus
• French: prems (fr) m, preums (fr) m (Switzerland, Belgium) prims (fr), (Canada) shotgun (fr)
• Hungarian: stipistop, stipistopi, stip-stop
• Ingrian: cur
• Russian: чур (ru) (čur)

Verb

dibs (third-person singular simple present dibses, present participle dibsing, simple past and past participle dibsed)

1. (informal) To claim a temporary right to (something); to reserve.

Synonyms

• (to reserve): bagsy (UK), bags (Australia)

Translations

to claim a temporary right to something; to reserve

• Finnish: varata (fi), apustaa (fi)
• Hungarian: lestoppol (hu)
• Ingrian: curattaa

Etymology 2

From Arabic دِبْس (dibs).

Noun

dibs (uncountable)

1. (dated) A sweet preparation or treacle of grape juice, much used in the East.
   • 1874, John William Kirton, The Temperance Hand-Book:

     Besides what is thus consumed, the village makes about 180,000 pounds of raisins , one third of which is for home consumption , and about 24,000 pounds of dibs, ( grape molasses , ) all of which is for home use

Etymology 3

Noun

dibs

1. plural of dib
2. (obsolete) A child's game, played with dib bones or stones, throwing them up from one's palm and catching them on the back of the hand.
3. (slang, archaic) Money.
   • 1897, The Investors Review, volume 10, page 310:

     Get hold of the dibs, says he, and then you are bound to be right.

References

• (money): 2017, Tony Crowley, The Liverpool English Dictionary (page 76)

Anagrams

• IBS-D, bids, BIDS, IDBs