Meaning & use
queue jumper
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Meanings
nouncountableBritishdisapproving
Someone who goes ahead of people who have been waiting in line, or who unfairly takes an earlier place.
Grammar: Countable and used mainly in British English; in American English people usually say line cutter.
Patterns
- call someone a queue jumper
- be a queue jumper
- accuse someone of being a queue jumper
The woman behind me shouted at the queue jumper to go to the back.
He pretended not to hear and walked past us like a queue jumper.
Nobody likes a queue jumper at the bus stop.
nouncountableBritishdisapprovingfigurative
A person who unfairly gets something before others who have waited longer, such as a place, ticket, or promotion.
Grammar: Figurative use: no actual line is involved, just unfair priority.
Patterns
- a queue jumper in something
- treat someone as a queue jumper
Critics called the company a queue jumper for grabbing the contract first.
She was seen as a queue jumper after getting the promotion ahead of longer-serving staff.
Word forms
| plural | queue jumpers |
|---|
Common combinations
- accuse someone of being a queue jumper
- A man accused her of being a queue jumper at the ticket office.
- an impatient queue jumper
- An impatient queue jumper pushed past everyone at the gate.
- shout at a queue jumper
- He shouted at a queue jumper and told him to wait his turn.
- treat someone like a queue jumper
- The staff treated him like a queue jumper even though he had a booking.
- a queue jumper at the checkout
- There was a queue jumper at the checkout with a full trolley.
Synonyms and how they differ
- line cutter
- The usual American English equivalent; it is neutral in form but still shows disapproval.
- queue-jumping
- The action itself rather than the person: queue-jumping is the behavior, a queue jumper is the one who does it.
Word family
- queue-jumping noun
- The act of going ahead of people who are waiting.
- queue noun
- A line of people waiting for something, mainly British.
- jump the queue phrase
- The verb phrase meaning to go ahead of those waiting.
Commonly confused: queue jumper or queue-jumping?
queue jumper vs queue-jumping
This is the activity or behavior; 'queue jumper' names the person who does it, so you say 'He is a queue jumper', not 'He is a queue-jumping'.
Practice
In British English, which sentence uses 'queue jumper' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A queue jumper unfairly goes ahead of people who have waited, so only the first sentence matches the meaning. The others describe patient or fair behavior, which is the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “queue jumper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.