Home / Dictionary / Queue

Queue Common

Queue has 6 different meanings across 2 categories:

Noun · Verb

Definitions
Noun
1

a line of people or vehicles waiting for something

"The passengers formed a long queue outside the ticket booth to buy their season passes."

2

(information processing) an ordered list of tasks to be performed or messages to be transmitted

"The server placed every incoming email into a queue before processing them in order."

3

a braid of hair at the back of the head

"She tied her long dark queue into a neat knot to keep it out of her face while painting."

4

A line of people, vehicles or other objects, in which one at the front end is dealt with first, the one behind is dealt with next, and so on, and which newcomers join at the opposite end (the back).

"Customers slowly moved forward as they waited in a queue for their turn to be served at the ticket counter."

"We had to wait in a long queue for hours before we could buy tickets."

Usage: Use "queue" to refer specifically to an orderly line where individuals are processed sequentially from front to back. When referring to this concept in American English, it is often replaced by the more common synonym "line."

Verb
1

form a queue, form a line, stand in line

"Customers lined up in front of the store"

2

To put oneself or itself at the end of a waiting line.

"The students queued patiently to buy tickets before the movie started."

In plain English: To queue means to line up and wait your turn for something.

"We had to queue for an hour just to buy coffee at the popular shop."

Example Sentences
"We had to wait in a long queue for hours before we could buy tickets." noun
"The queue for the popular restaurant stretched around the block." noun
"She added her name to the waiting queue at the ticket counter." noun
"A long queue of cars formed outside the gas station during rush hour." noun
"We had to queue for an hour just to buy coffee at the popular shop." verb
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
line list braid stand
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
breadline checkout line chow line gas line reception line ticket line unemployment line push-down queue

Origin

The word "queue" comes from the Anglo-Norman and Old French words for "tail." It entered English with that original meaning before coming to refer specifically to a line of people or things waiting in order.

Rhyming Words
neue dequeue requeue enqueue banlieue job queue long queue jump queue batch queue message queue stand in queue circular queue standing in queue double ended queue
Compare
Queue vs