Meaning & use
queuing
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“queuing” is a form of “queue”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Present participle of queue: standing or waiting in a line of people for your turn.
Grammar: Takes no object and is often followed by up, for or to: queuing for tickets.
Patterns
- queuing for something
- queuing up to do something
Hundreds of people were queuing outside the bakery before it opened.
We spent an hour queuing for the ride.
Fans are queuing up to buy the new album.
noununcountable
The activity or habit of waiting in line for your turn.
Grammar: Used without an or an: queuing is a part of life here.
Patterns
- queuing system
- queuing time
Visitors complained about the long queuing at passport control.
Queuing politely is taken very seriously in some countries.
The new ticket machines have cut queuing times by half.
Common combinations
- queuing up
- People were queuing up along the whole street.
- queuing for tickets
- They spent the morning queuing for tickets to the final.
- queuing system
- The clinic introduced a numbered queuing system.
- queuing time
- Average queuing time at the checkout is now three minutes.
- queuing patiently
- The crowd was queuing patiently in the rain.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lining up
- Lining up is the usual American phrase and is slightly more focused on forming a physical line.
- waiting in line
- Waiting in line means the same thing and is the normal American expression, while queuing sounds more British.
- standing in line
- Standing in line stresses that people are on their feet, but it is otherwise the American equivalent.
Word family
Commonly confused: queuing or cue?
queuing vs cue
Cue sounds exactly like queue but means a signal to start, or a stick used in billiards.
Practice
The shop had no system for lines, so customers just stood ___ at the door for an hour.
Choose one answer.
Queuing means waiting in a line, which matches customers standing at a door. Cueing sounds the same as queuing but means giving a signal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “queuing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.