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dibs

 - 6 dictionary results

dibs

  [dibz]
Use dibs in a Sentence
–noun Informal.
1. money in small amounts.
2. rights; claims: I have dibs on the car when Jimmy brings it back.
Origin:
1720–30; shortening of earlier dibstones a children's game; see dib

dib

  [dib]
–verb (used without object), dibbed, dib⋅bing.
to fish by letting the bait bob lightly on the water.
Origin:
1600–10; expressive word akin to dab 1 , dip 1 , bob 1 , etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dibs   (dĭbz)   
pl.n.   Slang

  1. A claim; rights: I have dibs on that last piece of pie.

  2. Money, especially in small amounts.


[Short for dibstones, counters used in a game, probably from obsolete dib, to tap.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dibs 
children's word to express a claim on something, 1932, originally U.S., apparently a contraction of dibstone "a knucklebone or jack in a children's game" (1692), of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

dibs

see have dibs on.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia

dibs

game of great antiquity and worldwide distribution, now played with stones, bones, seeds, filled cloth bags, or metal or plastic counters (the jacks), with or without a ball. The name derives from "chackstones"-stones to be tossed. The knuckle, wrist, or ankle bones (astragals) of goats, sheep, or other animals also have been used in play. Such objects have been found in prehistoric caves in Kiev, Ukraine, and pictures of the game are depicted on jars from ancient Greece.

Learn more about dibs with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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