noun

dibs

DIBZ/dɪbz/

A claim to have or use something before others.

He calls dibs on the front seat as his companion heads to the back.

Dibs on the front passenger seat: before anyone sits down, one companion visibly claims the desirable seat while the other yields and moves toward the rear.

Etymology

The claim apparently developed from earlier senses of “a portion or share” and “money.” Dibs probably shortens dibstone, a knucklebone or jack used in a children’s game, but that word’s first element is unexplained.

In context

The Diary Of A CEO76:48

remember the muscles are so hungry, so they get first dibs and they take up all of that creatine.

Cognitive Decline Expert: The Disease That Starts in Your 30s but Kills You in Your 70s

More examples

She had first dibs on the leftovers.
They claimed dibs on the window seats.
I already called dibs on that chair.

Forms

dibs

Similar words

claim: A broader assertion of a right to something.
priority: Can be officially assigned rather than informally called.