Meaning & use
queue
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Meanings
nouncountable
A line of people or vehicles waiting for their turn, in the order they arrived.
Grammar: Often with an or the: a long queue. American English prefers line.
Patterns
- a queue for something
- join the queue
- jump the queue
There was a long queue outside the bakery.
Please join the queue at the back.
He was annoyed when someone jumped the queue.
verbintransitive
To stand or wait in a line for your turn.
Grammar: No object; often followed by up or for: queue up for tickets.
Patterns
- queue up
- queue for something
Fans queued for hours to buy tickets.
We had to queue up at the counter.
nouncountablecomputing
In computing, a list of tasks or items held in order and processed one at a time.
Grammar: Used in the technical sense: a print queue.
Patterns
- add something to the queue
The document is in the print queue.
The server clears the message queue every minute.
Word forms
| plural | queues |
|---|---|
| third person singular | queues |
| past tense | queued |
| past participle | queued |
| -ing form | queueing |
Common combinations
- join the queue
- Please join the queue behind the sign.
- jump the queue
- Nobody likes people who jump the queue.
- long queue
- There was a long queue at the station.
- queue up
- Shoppers queued up before opening.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- queuing noun
- the act of waiting in line
Commonly confused: queue or cue?
queue vs cue
Cue sounds the same but means a signal to start, or a billiards stick.
Practice
People had to ___ for two hours to get into the museum.
Choose one answer.
Queue is the verb for waiting in line. Cue sounds the same but has a different meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “queue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.