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”

Example Sentences

Earlier, AFP journalists saw travellers at Beijing's bustling airport forming a snaking queue to check in their luggage with the airline.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Passionately defending cinema on the big screen and then waiting for the next suggested movie to segue into our queue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

At one point, travelers were being redirected across lines, instructed to bypass one queue for another, then stopped again.

From Slate • Mar. 26, 2026

"When I had just one of my teeth missing, I couldn't smile and my self-confidence was going," says Carol Sherman, who was at the front of that huge queue in Bristol two years ago.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Tommy had lowered his voice and I stepped in closer, just as though we were still at Hailsham, talking in the dinner queue or beside the pond.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro