noun / verb
queue
KYOO/kjuː/
An ordered line or list awaiting attention or processing.
People wait in an orderly queue at the ticket window.
Etymology
A tail supplied the image of a trailing line. Use for a line of dancers may have helped develop the sense of people standing one behind another, though the English sense may instead come directly from French.
In context
maybe we should join the queue
More examples
- Your document is next in the printer's queue.
- The system queues incoming requests until a worker is available.
- I queued three files for download before leaving.
Forms
queue · queues · queued · queuing
Similar words
- line
- The more usual American term for people waiting their turn.
- waiting list
- Usually records people awaiting an opening rather than standing together.