queue

American  

[kyoo] / kju /

noun

queues plural

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)

queues, present (3rd person singular) queued, past participle, past queuing present participle

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

Derived Forms

• queuer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• queues
  plural

Participles

• queuing
  present
• queued
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• queue
  simple
• queues
  simple
• have queued
  perfect
• has queued
  perfect
• am queuing
  progressive
• are queuing
  progressive
• is queuing
  progressive
• have been queuing
  perfect progressive
• has been queuing
  perfect progressive

Past

• queued
  simple
• had queued
  perfect
• was queuing
  progressive
• were queuing
  progressive
• had been queuing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will queue
  simple
• will have queued
  perfect
• will be queuing
  progressive
• will have been queuing
  perfect progressive

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

Some social media users said they had spent hours in the virtual queue only for their request to time out, but others said they had secured tickets successfully.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

Datangel, a 37-year-old government communications employee and devoted pop music fan who has seen stars like Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, got stuck in the online queue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026

“With shipping traffic steadily improving through the Strait, traders are increasingly focused on a growing queue of cargoes waiting to move,” he said.

From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026

“To which they said, ‘We can put it in a queue and someone will call you back in 24 hours.’

From Slate • Jun. 24, 2026

His hats were black, round of crown and straight of brim, and uncrushed as though he still left room for a coiled queue.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck