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.

---

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

---

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

See Examples For:

queue queues queued queuing

There’ll be, like, one or two people there, but our team is out there working with them, and they’re usually able to get in the queue and get back indoors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

They could instead queue up on Gilt’s website in anticipation of the day’s flash sale and buy that same merchandise online.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Throughout the queue, riders will encounter “holographic presentations and scientific exhibits,” culminating in the discovery of a new energy source, detailed by illuminated blue energy lines, that will power the ride.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

After a five-hour wait for petrol, Mongolian pensioner Nasanjargal is still 10 places from the pump, with dozens of cars behind him in a queue snaking into the arid steppe.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

The old man in the feathered hat fell down, promptly picked himself up, and continued his lopsided run to the queue.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

That is a long way short of the long queues for properties after the pandemic, but is still the most intense competition for nearly two years.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

"Fuel is unavailable, there are huge queues everywhere," he told AFP from his motionless Toyota sedan after a one-and-a-half hour drive from the capital Ulaanbaatar.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Still, sailors said that having no Wi-Fi made communicating with family and friends challenging, since there are often queues for the shared computers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

"There are three quarters of a million people summitting annually, so queues are likely to be expected in peak times," the spokesman added.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Nora Molloy knows my mother from the queues at the St.Vincent de Paul Society.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

Travellers heading into Tibet often queued there from the previous day.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Scores of women queued at a school sheltering Nepal flood victims, jostling to receive personal-care supplies, as concerns over sanitation and menstrual hygiene mount days after the catastrophic disaster.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Which makes the moment when we still have to ask ourselves what sounds good feel increasingly precious: a little unoptimized space before something has been recommended, queued or dropped into a cart for us.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Thirty feet below, more than a dozen people were queued up at the base of the Step.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

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

There will be no change to the eligibility criteria for the pass, available to those who have problems queuing for long periods because of a physical, emotional or learning need, Merlin says.

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

In the alleys, fifteen-year-old boys are making their way toward mine elevators, queuing up with their helmets and lamps outside the gates.

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