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

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Etymology

Origin of queue

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

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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

See Examples For:

queue queues queued queuing

"I have been spending more time on the fuel queue than on my business and it is not sustainable," said McDonald Kachule, a motorcycle taxi operator in central Lilongwe for six years.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

Nearly 1,200 undergraduates were in the class in the winter term of 2024 and they flooded the online queue for office hours.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

A little queue had formed at the station ATM, where commuters were withdrawing cash to buy physical transit cards so they could get on the train.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

Those who’d like to see Vision and Ultron’s story from the very beginning should add “Avengers: Age of Ultron” to their queue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Madame Ruelle pulls Etienne out of the processing queue, and he wraps Marie-Laure in his arms.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Long queues form at the city's borders as vehicles are stopped and checked, leaving commuters stuck in traffic for hours.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

"It suddenly started about six weeks ago to the point where we've had queues outside every weekend waiting to come in," she says.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

“So we support the thinning of the queues and getting the better, realistic decisions to make sure we can all move forward.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The exhibition opened on 10 September but has experienced a series of problems with queues and congestion, with some visitors spending longer than their allocated 40-minute slot viewing the tapestry.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

He said the combination of queues and cameras made it the easiest place for a spy to be photographed and identified.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

When it ended, dozens queued to meet and take photos with him.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

In Marawi, a city long-identified with a bloody showdown between government forces and jihadists, AFP journalists saw long lines of voters peacefully queued outside polling stations with tanks and security personnel standing watch.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

Thousands have queued to pay their respects to the late king, during his lying in state in the chapel of the Royal Palace in the Norwegian capital.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

On Tuesday morning, dozens queued up, sometimes wrapping around the shop’s interior.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Just as one storm passed, another queued at its heels.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

Watch: The Ethiopians queuing to fight for Russia.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

A new virtual queuing system for visitors with accessibility needs to be introduced first at Alton Towers has been praised by charities.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

"This new virtual queuing approach has been designed in response to that feedback."

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

That led to 20 percent fewer vessels and a 17 percent drop in tonnage, not to mention longer lines of ships queuing up.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

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