queue

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queue

  • /kjuː/ UK
  • /kjʉw/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /kju/ US
  • /kjʉw/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /kjʉ/ Northern Ireland, Scotland
  • /kɪʊ/ Wales

Sounds like cue, Kew, kyu, Q, que · Rhymes with -uː

Where it comes from

From Middle English queue, quew, qwew, couwe, from Anglo-Norman queue, keu and Old French cöe, cue, coe (“tail”), from Vulgar Latin cōda, from Latin cauda. See also Middle French queu, cueue. Doublet of coda and cola.

noun queues

  1. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, uncommon, in North America A line of people, vehicles or other objects, usually one to be dealt with in sequence (i.e., the one at the front end is dealt with first, the one behind is dealt with next, and so on), and which newcomers join at the opposite end (the back). I was absent-minded at the moment and was last in the queue.

    Similar: line, lineup

  2. A waiting list or other means of organizing people or objects into a first-come-first-served order.
  3. A data structure in which objects are added to one end, called the tail, and removed from the other, called the head (in the case of a FIFO queue). The term can also refer to a LIFO queue or stack where these ends coincide. 2005, David Flanagan, Java in a Nutshell, p. 234, Queue implementations are commonly based on insertion order as in first-in, first-out (FIFO) queues or last-in, first-out queues (LIFO queues are also known as stacks).
  4. An animal's tail. HESSE: Az., a lion, queue fourchée, rampt., barry of ten, arg. and gu., crowned, or, and holding in his dexter paw a sword, ppr., hilt and pommel, gold.
  5. historical A men's hairstyle with a braid or ponytail at the back of the head, such as that worn by men in Imperial China. In the morning and evening, spruce Chinamen stroll about or chat at each other's doors, in blue trousers, white jacket, and a queue into which red silk is plaited till it reaches almost to their heels.

Similar: queue

verb queues · queueing · queuing · queued

  1. intransitive To put oneself or itself at the end of a waiting line. Although there is a spacious circulating area beyond the platforms at Clacton, there is severe overcrowding on peak Saturdays; at times of pressure passengers have to queue out into the street [...]

    Similar: join a queue, join the queue, line up

  2. intransitive To arrange themselves into a physical waiting queue.
  3. transitive To add to a queue data structure.
  4. To fasten the hair into a queue. The sons, in short square skirted coats with rows of stupendous brass buttons, and their hair generally queued in the fashion of the times, especially if they could procure an eel skin for the purpose, it being esteemed throughout the country as potent nourisher and strengthener of the hair.
  5. To matchmake. I'm queueing into a game.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: queue up, line up, waiting line, trail, trailer, line-up, file, row, hold, suspense, enqueue, swinging, gender, standby, waiting, braid

noun

Similar: queue

Translations

Every language

noun line of people

Españolfila, cola, línea, hila
한국어줄 jul, 대기줄 daegijul
日本語列 retsu, 待ち行列 machi gyōretsu, 行列 gyōretsu
中文隊列 /队列 duìliè
हिन्दीपंक्ति paṅkti, क़तार qatār
Portuguêsfila, alinhamento
Françaisfile, queue
DeutschSchlange, Warteschlange, Reihe
Italianofila, coda
Ελληνικάουρά ourá, σειρά seirá
Românăcoadă
Русскийо́чередь óčeredʹ
Tiếng Việtxếp nối đuôi
العربيةطابُور ṭābūr, صَفّ ṣaff
עבריתתּוֹר tor

noun waiting list

Españolfila, lista, lista de espera, lista de pendientes, en espera, cola
中文等待名单 déngdàimíngdān
Portuguêsfila
Françaisfile
DeutschWarteliste
Italianofila
Ελληνικάσειρά seirá
Русскийо́чередь óčeredʹ
עבריתתוֹר tor

noun data structure

Españolcola (FIFO), pila (LIFO)
中文佇列
Portuguêsfila (FIFO), pilha (LIFO)
Françaisfile
Italianocoda
Ελληνικάουρά ourá
Românăcoadă (FIFO)
Русскийо́чередь óčeredʹ, стек stɛk
עבריתתוֹר FIFO, מחסנית LIFO

noun heraldry: animal's tail

Españolcola de un animal
Françaisqueue
Русскийхвост xvost

noun hairstyle

Españolcoleta
日本語辮髪 benpatsu
中文辮子 /辫子 biànzi
Portuguêsrabicho, rabo de cavalo
Françaisnatte
Ελληνικάαλογοουρά alogoourá
Românăcoadă
Русскийкоси́чка kosíčka, коса́ kosá, хвост xvost
Tiếng Việttóc đuôi sam

verb put oneself at the end of a queue

Españolformar/hacer cola/fila, formar
한국어줄을 서다 jur-eul seoda
日本語並ぶ narabu
中文排隊 /排队 páiduì
Portuguêsentrar na fila
Françaisfaire la queue, se mettre en ligne
Deutschsich anstellen, Schlange stehen
Italianomettersi in fila, fare la coda, fare la fila
Ελληνικάπεριμένω στην σειρά periméno stin seirá
Русскийстоя́ть в о́череди stojátʹ v óčeredi, станови́ться в о́чередь stanovítʹsja v óčeredʹ, стать в о́чередь statʹ v óčeredʹ
Tiếng Việtsắp hàng
العربيةوَقَفَ فِي الصَّفّ waqafa fī aṣ-ṣaff
עבריתעמד בתור amád b'tor

verb arrange into a queue

Españolponer en fila
日本語並ぶ narabu
中文排隊 /排队 páiduì
Portuguêsenfileirar
Françaisfaire la queue
Deutschaufreihen
Italianomettere in fila
Ελληνικάσχηματίζω σειρά schimatízo seirá

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MLA

"queue." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/queue. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

queue. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/queue

Chicago

"queue." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/queue.

BibTeX
@misc{queue_2026,
  title = {queue},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/queue},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}