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

When he first started his job, Caldeira spent time in return queues at stores groaning at the many customers who held up the lines in a confusion of QR codes and labels.

From The Wall Street Journal

Children queue with plastic containers to collect water, while rows of tents stretch across streets and open spaces, sheltering families who have lost their homes.

From Barron's

On Tuesday, people queued outside the Bulgarian National Bank and several currency exchange offices in the capital Sofia to obtain euros, an AFP journalist observed.

From Barron's

Membership of the European Union is also a potential sticking point, perhaps less so for Russia than for countries that are ahead of Ukraine in the queue to join the EU.

From BBC

“We have received orders for a pickup, he has been placed in our transport queue... and the date and time will be released once he’s back in Navajo County,” said Clouse.

From Los Angeles Times