queue
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a line of people or vehicles waiting for something, where the person at the front is served first.
n.a sequence of people, vehicles, or objects waiting to be attended to in order. While understood globally, the term is the standard designation in British and Commonwealth English.
Simple“We had to wait in a long queue for two hours to get tickets for the concert.”
In context“The queue for the exhibition snaked around the block, comprised of patient tourists and locals braving the drizzle for a glimpse of the masterpiece.”
UsageCommonly used with the verbs 'join', 'stand in', or 'jump'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a list of data or tasks waiting to be processed by a computer.
n.a data structure or list of operations maintained in a specific order, typically first-in, first-out (FIFO).
Simple“Your document is in the print queue and will start printing soon.”
In context“The server administrator cleared the mail queue after a configuration error caused thousands of outgoing messages to stall.”
UsageOften used as a countable noun in technical contexts.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.a hairstyle where the hair is worn in a long braid or ponytail at the back.
n.a men's hairstyle consisting of a long braid at the back of the head, notably associated with the Manchu people and Imperial China.
Simple“In the historical film, the soldiers all wore their hair in a long queue.”
In context“The decree mandated that all male subjects adopt the queue as a visible sign of loyalty to the new dynasty.”
Synonymsbraidpigtail - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to put a task or item into a sequence to be dealt with later.
v.to add an item or task to a processing sequence. This use is transitive and common in digital or technical environments.
Simple“You can queue several songs so they play one after another.”
In context“The system allows users to queue multiple downloads simultaneously, managing bandwidth by processing them one at a time.”
queue vs line — Queue is the standard British term for a waiting row, while line is the American equivalent.
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.