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PlainSpell

dibs

UK /dɪbz/noun, interjection, verb

dibs is spelled D-I-B-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dibs means “The right to use or enjoy something exclusively or before anyone else” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in dibs?

Letters4: D-I-B-S
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is dibs?

Dibs appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce dibs?

  • UK /dɪbz/

Dibs has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dibs.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of dibs

  • dibses present, singular, he/she/it
  • dibsing participle, present
  • dibsed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does dibs mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    informalThe right to use or enjoy something exclusively or before anyone else.

    I call dibs on the hammock!

  2. 2

    plural of dib (a form of dib)

  3. 3

    obsoleteA 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.

  4. 4

    archaicslangMoney.

  5. 5

    datedA sweet preparation or treacle of grape juice, much used in the East.

interjection

  1. 1

    informalUsed to claim this right.

verb

  1. 1

    informalTo claim a temporary right to (something); to reserve.

noun

as DIBs
  1. 1

    plural of DIB (a form of DIB)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Dibs in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchprems, preums, prims, shotgun (the right to use or enjoy something exclusively…), preums m prims (said to reserve to the right to something…)
GermanVorrecht (the right to use or enjoy something exclusively…)
Spanishprimeras, prioridad, reserva (the right to use or enjoy something exclusively…), pido, es mío, me lo pido (said to reserve to the right to something…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does dibs come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after dibs