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

“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

I follow a pair of nuns to a second, smaller counter with less neon, away from the block-long queue off the latest tour bus.

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2026

"I'm a real advocate for this vaccine and when Ivy is old enough, she'll be first in the queue," she adds.

From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026

Since the war began, both Ukraine and Moldova have joined the queue of countries seeking accession alongside Balkan hopefuls: Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

It wasn’t, though, a good place for a discreet conversation—not nearly as good as the lunch queue.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro