Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Slang A claim; rights: I have dibs on that last piece of pie.
- n. Slang Money, especially in small amounts.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A thick molasses or syrup made in Syria by boiling down grape-juice; also, syrup or honey of dates.
Wiktionary
- n. informal A claim to the right to use or enjoy something exclusively or before anyone else.
- v. To claim a temporary right to (something); to reserve.
- n. dated A sweet preparation or treacle of grape juice, much used in the East.
- n. Plural form of dib.
- n. obsolete A child's game, played with dib bones.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A sweet preparation or treacle of grape juice, much used in the East.
- n. A small amount of money.
- n. A right or claim, such as the right of use, or of first choice.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a claim of rights
Etymologies
- 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 (Wiktionary)
- Short for dibstones, counters used in a game, probably from obsolete dib, to tap. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“If he plans to do so by challenging the precinct to the most amazing scat-off we've ever seen, we call dibs on front-seat tickets.”
The Huffington Post: Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop, 30, Arrested By Madison, Wisc. Police
“And before all you SB Nation and Mister Irrelevant writers start composing your own list of the 10 greatest moments in D.C. sports, I call dibs on that post.”
The Washington Post: SI's 10 greatest moments in D.C. sports history
“Like I told you, I called dibs, so if you just cooperate with Mia, you and me will be rolling around in bed before you know it.”
“If lifehacker gives away any free slots, I call dibs on one!”
“Note to fellow bloggers: I call dibs on the future post of “How to make baseball more relevant.””
“I call dibs on the first book signed by the author!”
“I call dibs on including EVERY SINGLE ONE of Bookshelves O' Doom's books with the exception of my own for my follow-up list.”
“I call dibs on the girl in the black and white plaid at 2:08!”
“I call dibs on this one: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station apparently have access to a gun.”
“LCB do to yer repu.. reper.. hixtorie, I call dibs ona George Kloonie Iffn we seez him”
Cat law #13: - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘dibs’.
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FUN - Jeeves and Wooster - Wooster
"Woosterisms" as heard from the character " Wooster" in P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves and Wooster" stories.
be potty about, be tutted at, biff, big fella, bit of a cropper, blighter, blot, By gee!, By gosh!, By gum!, chilled steel, chokey and 115 more...
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money
words for currency
money, cheddar, beans, cheese, cash, gwap, cream, brass, cake, bread, scratch, sugar and 41 more...
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Pluralia Tantum
Nouns that are common in plural form but are non-existent or rarely used in singular form.
scissors, thanks, clothes, remains, tights, trousers, pants, news, billiards, means, mathematics, physics and 221 more...
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Words that delight me
tepid, perfunctory, trope, benign, inordinate, bewildering, ersatz, boon, delectable, apt, scuttlebutt, sequester and 398 more...
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FTL
Words listed first by me that don't belong in any other list.
licit, precis, mnemosyne, badinage, mariposa, lepidoptera, coruscation, poignant, meme, oxymoron, xenophobia, asterism and 128 more...
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delcj's Words
gavotte, perverse, tchotchkes, schmoop, divisural, triplicostate, albatross, snuggery, virgule, separatrix, solidus, tetrodotoxin and 116 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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British Cant & Slang, Old & New
Mostly, the cant words come from my reprint of Francis Grose's 1785 dictionary of 'The Vulgar Tongue', while the more modern slang has been found at various online sources, e.g. this online diction...
bog-standard, bumbaclot, brown trouser moment, bingo wings, bobfoc, babber, sweating, tantadlin tart, taplash, timber toe, tray trip, twiddle-diddles and 209 more...
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Jackie11390's list
I rock.
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today's word
copemate, quiddity, ere, maugre, argal, cultivar, exurb, spokesmodel, rollick, logy, cadastral, corpulent and 259 more...
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Funny People (2009)
Words from 2009 'Funny People' film.
frenzy, mousy, antsy, flaky, stutter, twitch, purse, gullible, hatred, dum-dum, jack off, vanquish and 16 more...
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Words from Martin Amis's Money
...With dry lips and voodoo heat in his eyes Felix told me that all America was interflexed by computer processors whose roots spread ever outward from the trunks of skyscrapers until they looped l...
spunk, valuta, dibs, dunn, cowrie, plutocrat, fiasco, cambist, nub, butch, self, tinnitus and 1 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for dibs.
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