queue

queue — noun

1. a row formed by people or vehicles positioned one after another, each waiting fo

1.nounB1
Definition

a row formed by people or vehicles positioned one after another, each waiting for their chance to do something such as buy a ticket, board a train, or enter a building.

Example

A long queue of shoppers formed outside the department store before it opened.

queue of + people group

Rohan joined the queue at the ticket counter twenty minutes before the film started.

join the queue + for a purpose

Common collocations
  • long queue
  • short queue
  • join a queue
  • stand in a queue
  • queue of people
  • queue for tickets
Synonyms
  • line

    the standard American English term for a queue of people or vehicles

  • row

    emphasises people or things arranged side by side, not one behind another

  • waiting list

    an ordered list of people wanting a service, not a physical line

Grammar Patterns

queue of + people/vehicles

the queue for + noun

in a queue

Usage Note

Queue is the standard term in British English; American English uses line instead for people waiting. The computing sense (sense 2) is used in all varieties.

Common Mistakes

I stood in the queue line for ages.
I stood in the queue for ages.
'queue' already means a line; 'queue line' is redundant.
There was a queue of waiting people.
There was a queue of people.
Adding 'waiting' is unnecessary because queuing implies waiting.

2. a structured list of data items, tasks, or messages stored in a computer system,

2.nounB2
Definition

a structured list of data items, tasks, or messages stored in a computer system, where each new item is added at the back and items are taken from the front for processing.

Example

The printer queue had twelve documents waiting to be printed.

printer queue — common collocation

The rendering software added each new frame to the back of the video-processing queue.

added to the back of the queue — FIFO order

Common collocations
  • print queue
  • data queue
  • message queue
  • processing queue
  • add to the queue
  • clear the queue
  • next in the queue
Synonyms
  • list

    a more general term; not all lists follow first-in-first-out order like a queue does

  • buffer

    a temporary storage area that may or may not use queue ordering

  • stack

    a data structure where the last item added is processed first (LIFO), opposite of a queue

Grammar Patterns

the + noun + queue

in a queue

add to the queue

Usage Note

In computing, queue follows FIFO (first in, first out) order. Distinguish from stack (noun sense 2 in computing), where the last item added is processed first.

Common Mistakes

I cleared the queue by deleting items from the middle.
I cleared the queue by processing items from the front.
A queue processes items from the front only; deleting from the middle breaks the data structure.
Idioms

jump the queue

idiom

To move ahead of others who are waiting in a line instead of waiting for your proper turn.

Maya was angry when a man tried to jump the queue at the supermarket.

Did you see that woman jump the queue at the bus stop this morning?

queue — verb

Word family

  • queuing
    nounB2
  • queued
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Queue (British English) and line (American English) both describe people or vehicles arranged one behind another awaiting a turn. Queue emphasises the orderly sequence and the act of waiting itself, while line is a broader term that can also describe a row of objects not necessarily waiting (e.g. 'a line of trees'). A row typically describes items placed side by side rather than one behind another — people sitting in a cinema are in a row, not a queue. A waiting list is not a physical line but an ordered record of people who want a service or spot, such as a school place or a doctor's appointment. For example: 'The queue for the concert stretched around the block' (physical line), 'I was put on a waiting list for the surgery' (ordered record), and 'We sat in the front row of the theatre' (side-by-side seating).

queue ↗linerow ↗waiting list

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in a queue
  • form a queue
  • join the queue
  • queue of people
  • queue for tickets

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Queue entered English from French in the 16th century, where it originally meant 'tail'. The French word itself comes from Latin 'cauda', also meaning 'tail'. The sense of a line of waiting people appeared in the early 19th century, based on the image of people forming a tail-like line. The computing sense emerged in the mid-20th century as data processing borrowed the waiting-line metaphor.