Recent Examples on the WebWhen somebody calls the Alameda association’s free hotline, for example, an email blast is sent out to all members, sparking a clamoring for dibs.—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 14 May 2024 The Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, and Chicago Sky—in that order‚ will get first dibs this year.—Jenny McCoy, SELF, 15 Apr. 2024 Four communities — Richland Center, Washington County, Fond du Lac and Marinette — will have first dibs.—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2024 People who pay taxes that contribute directly to the quality of the parks should be able to get first dibs in vacationing to those parks.—Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 22 Mar. 2024 First dibs go to significant contributors as measured by joining company advisory boards or having high karma, a secretly determined grade of someone’s behavior on Reddit.—Robert Peck, WIRED, 23 Feb. 2024 One thing's for sure: Last one to call dibs has to be Midge—sorry not sorry.—Emily Becker, Women's Health, 6 Sep. 2023 The teams with the worst record on waiver claims will have first dibs.—Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 29 Aug. 2023 That’s a whole lot of rearranging the deck chairs, with Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle expected to get first dibs next month at filling the primo vacancies.—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dibs.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
short for dibstones jacks, from obsolete dib to dab
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