queue
a braid of hair worn hanging down behind.
a file or line, especially of people waiting their turn.
Computers. a FIFO-organized sequence of items, as data, messages, jobs, or the like, waiting for action.
to form in a line while waiting (often followed by up).
Computers. to arrange (data, jobs, messages, etc.) into a queue.
Origin of queue
1word story For queue
The first recorded meaning of queue in English, from Old French, dates from the late 15th century and meant “a band of parchment attached to a document and bearing a seal.” The historical sense “a braid of hair worn hanging down from the head or a wig,” dates from the 18th century. The very modern computing sense of queue “a sequence of items, as data, messages, jobs, or the like, waiting for action” dates from the 1960s.
Other words from queue
- queu·er, noun
Words that may be confused with queue
- cue, queue
Words Nearby queue
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use queue in a sentence
A few years ago, I was standing in a queue behind two men and eavesdropping on their conversation.
Will Jargon Be the Death of the English Language? | The Telegraph | March 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWith Seacrest, the queue of big-name Miss Havishams in lacy, "nude" boring dresses reached a critical mass.
If only because it was the most ridiculously glamorous queue for the make-up chair I have ever seen.
Love Actually’s 10th Anniversary: The Cast and Crew Reminisce About the Christmas Classic | Marlow Stern | November 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTOf course, it could take some time, given that Syria has pushed a lot of things to the back of the queue.
In Tiny Ajo, Arizona, Border Patrol Agents Are Living the Dream | Terry Greene Sterling | September 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAt the beginning of this year, the queue in Embassy/Baghdad was roughly 2,000 cases (meaning upwards of 4-5,000 individuals).
We Abandoned Them: Kirk Johnson’s Fight to Save Iraqis | John Kael Weston | September 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Her hair had fallen from its pins and hung in a braid, its length concealed by her position, and making the effect of a queue.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonThe veil had slipped and might easily have been mistaken for a ribbon confining the queue at the base of the head.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonHis heart was open as the day,His feelings all were true; His hair was some inclined to gray—He wore it in a queue.
The Book of Humorous Verse | VariousHe wore a long queue, which depended half-way down his back.
Legends and Tales | Bret HarteComplaints are useless; a ruthless hand sweeps you away, and the queue closes up.
In the Ranks of the C.I.V. | Erskine Childers
British Dictionary definitions for queue
/ (kjuː) mainly British /
a line of people, vehicles, etc, waiting for something: a queue at the theatre
computing a list in which entries are deleted from one end and inserted at the other
a pigtail
jump the queue See queue-jump
(intr often foll by up) to form or remain in a line while waiting
computing to arrange (a number of programs) in a predetermined order for accessing by a computer
Origin of queue
1- US and Canadian word: line
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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