Word
dibs
US/ˈdɪbz/
UK/dˈɪbz/
Definitions
01the right to choose first
n. the right to have or use something before other people.
n. the informal right to first choice or exclusive use of an object or opportunity.
“I have dibs on the front seat of the car for our road trip.”
“The senior developer claimed dibs on the new project, citing his extensive experience with the legacy codebase.”
Informal · Slang
Usage
Usually used with the preposition 'on'.
03to claim something
v. to claim or reserve something for yourself.
v. to assert a claim or reservation over a specific object or right.
“He dibsed the best chair in the living room before anyone else arrived.”
“She quickly dibsed the remaining budget for her department's marketing campaign before the fiscal year ended.”
Informal · Slang
Etymology
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.
From Arabic دِبْس (dibs).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/dibs