queue

/kju/

/kju/

Other forms: queues; queued; queuing; queueing

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.

Definitions of queue

1. noun

   a line of people or vehicles waiting for something
   synonyms: waiting line

   types:

   bread line, breadline

   a queue of people waiting for free food

   checkout line

   a queue of people waiting to pay for purchases

   chow line

   a queue of people waiting for food to be served (especially at a military camp)

   gas line

   a queue of vehicles waiting to purchase gasoline

   reception line

   a line of people (hosts and guests of honor) who welcome the guests at a reception party

   ticket line

   a queue of people waiting to buy tickets

   unemployment line

   a queue of people waiting for employment

   type of:

   line

   a formation of people or things one behind another
2. noun

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

   push-down queue

   a queue in which the last item to go in is the first item to come out (LIFO)

   type of:

   list, listing

   a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics)
3. verb

   form a queue, form a line, stand in line
   synonyms: line up, queue up

   type of:

   stand, stand up

   be standing; be upright
4. noun

   a braid of hair at the back of the head
   type of:

   braid, plait, tress, twist

   a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair