queue

American  

[kyoo] / kyu /

noun

1. a braid of hair worn hanging down behind.

2. a file or line, especially of people waiting their turn.

3. Computers. a FIFO-organized sequence of items, as data, messages, jobs, or the like, waiting for action.

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verb (used with or without object)

queued, queuing

1. to form in a line while waiting (often followed byup ).

2. Computers. to arrange (data, jobs, messages, etc.) into a queue.

queue British  

/ kjuː /

noun

1. a line of people, vehicles, etc, waiting for something

   a queue at the theatre

2. computing a list in which entries are deleted from one end and inserted at the other

3. a pigtail

4. See queue-jump

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verb

1. to form or remain in a line while waiting

2. computing to arrange (a number of programs) in a predetermined order for accessing by a computer

Other Word Forms

• queuer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of queue

First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French, from Latin cauda, cōda “tail”

Explanation

A queue is a line of things, usually people. If you go to the store on a big sale day, there will probably be a long queue at the check-out. Queue comes from the Latin cauda, for "tail." Outside the United States it means a line of people or vehicles waiting their turn, so if your English friend talks about queuing up for the movies, that means getting in line for a ticket. We also use it in computing to mean an order of messages to be sent. In a big office, you send documents to the printer queue, and they're printed in the order they are sent.

Example Sentences

Queue up a Dolly playlist and start peeling because an amazing pie awaits you.

From Salon • Nov. 7, 2022

This article has been updated with more recent numbers about the Queue.

From NewsForKids.net • Sep. 19, 2022

A media scrum for the very last person in The Queue.

From Washington Post • Sep. 19, 2022

“We want to thank the queen for letting us see the most beautiful Hong Kong,” said Mr. Chow, who had stood in The Queue for 13 hours.

From New York Times • Sep. 19, 2022

The only TV show I had access to was a company-produced sitcom called Tommy Queue.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline