Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
dibs - 7 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.
Cite This Source Link To dibs
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.
Cite This Source

Dibs

Dibs\, n. A sweet preparation or treacle of grape juice, much used in the East. --Johnston.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

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
Cite This Source

dibs

see have dibs on.

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

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.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see dibs on Thesaurus | Reference