From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishqueuequeue1 /kjuː/ ●●○ S3 noun [countable] 1 LINEWAIT British English a line of people waiting to enter a building, buy something etc, or a line of vehicles waiting to move SYN line American Englishbe/stand/wait in a queue We stood in a queue for half an hour. You’ll have to join the queue.queue of a queue of people waiting for the busqueue for the queue for the toiletsqueue to do something There was a long queue to get into the cinema.the front/head/back/end of a queue At last we got to the front of the queue.2 British English all the people who are waiting to have or get something You’ll have to join the housing queue.queue for the queue for kidney transplant operations It is possible to jump the queue (=get something before people who have been waiting longer) if you are prepared to pay for your treatment.3 technicalTD a list of jobs that a computer has to do in a particular order the print queue4 a number of telephone calls to a particular number that are waiting to be answered → the dole queue at dole1(2)COLLOCATIONSverbsstand/wait in a queueShe stood in the queue at the checkout.be in a queueI've been in this queue for fifteen minutes.form a queueOther passengers for the train were forming a queue.join a queueHe went back inside to join the queue for the toilets.take your place in a queue (=join it)I walked to the bus stop and took my place in the queue.jump the queue (=go to the front rather than joining the end of a queue)An argument developed when she tried to jump the queue.a queue formsA queue had formed outside the shop.a queue stretches somewhereThe queue stretched the full length of the building.adjectiveslong/bigAlready a long queue had formed outside the concert hallThere was a big queue.smallThere was a small queue of people waiting to see the doctor.an orderly queue (=with no bad behaviour or pushing in front of other people)She told the children to form an orderly queue.phrasesthe front/head of the queueHe pushed his way to the front of the queue.the back/end of the queueGet to the back of the queue!be first in a queueI wanted to be first in the queue when the doors opened.
Examples from the Corpus
queue• The women who were waiting outside the toilets began to form a queue.• There was a queue of about fifteen people at the bus stop.• Before long, lengthy queues began to form before opening time.• There was a long queue for the toilets.• Three girls lost two weeks for talking in the medicine queue whilst waiting for doses.• If you're heading for the Paris Disney during the Easter holidays, how can you beat the queues?• Meredith, recalling her brief conversation with Deanes in the queue, felt compelled to defend him.• Excuse me, are you in the queue?• I joined the queue for a taxi.• Another person joined the queue and the old lady immediately behind him began to look restive.• Credit-checking agencies, credit-card processors and other heavy telecoms users have been at the front of the queue.• At one point the queue stretched four deep for more than a quarter of mile.• The queue went right round the block.be/stand/wait in a queue• No-one walked the corridors or stood in queues and the Headmaster almost seemed friendly, if this is possible to believe.jump the queue• Why not save money - and jump the queue today.• Rayleen helped too, or rather her uniform did, giving us a pseudo-official status which meant we could jump the queue.• We can not jump the queue. queuequeue2 ●○○ verb (also queue up) [intransitive] British English 1 LINEWAITto form or join a line of people or vehicles waiting to do something or go somewhere SYN line up American Englishqueue for Some of the people queuing for tickets had been there since dawn.queue (up) to do something We had to queue up for ages to get served.2 if people are queuing up to do something, they all want to do it very muchqueue up to do something The school is one of the best, and parents are queuing up to send their children there.queue up for something Actresses are queuing up for the part.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
queue• One of the other passengers who was queueing to get on the train suddenly had a heart attack.• The Caf Gandoplhi is Glasgow's cooling stream bit, assuming you don't mind queuing.• They are just queuing at the door, waiting to be let in.• We had to queue for hours in the rain.• Everyone would be trying to use the lift at that point - probably queuing for it.• He had half expected a divine pre-emptive strike, a thunderbolt maybe, as he queued for the body and blood.• Thousands queued for tickets to see the final.• Game players every where are now queuing up for a copy of this excellent graphical game with breathtaking colours.queue (up) to do something• Kylesku was notorious, and approaching cars raced to be in the front of the queue to avoid a frustrating wait.• After the show, there was a queue to buy the clothes and last year's total was doubled.• People are queuing up to join the voluntary scheme.• Cars stack up behind every bus, while passengers queue to pay their fares.• The Khan boys were queuing up to play me.• For days the queue to sign the Condolence Book in the embassy lobby had stretched twice around Grosvenor Square.• There's even a queue to stroke the police horse.• Sometimes they were queuing to telephone him.queue up to do something• But, like turkeys looking forward to Christmas, industry heavyweights queued up to be part of the action.• But don't fantasise about everyone at a party queuing up to chat to you.• Manufacturers queue up to claim their machines are upgradeable; but some stand out as truly modular.• People are queuing up to join the voluntary scheme.• The Khan boys were queuing up to play me.• Canteen antagonisms ... getting heavily antagonized while you're queuing up to purchase a doughnut.• There is a long catalogue of people who will queue up to write the Secretary of State's epitaph.From Longman Business Dictionaryqueuequeue1 /kjuː/ noun [countable]1British English a line of people waiting to enter a building, buy something etcSYNline AmEThere may be long queues outside stores at sale times.2COMPUTING a list of jobs that a computer has to do in a particular orderthe number of jobs in the batch queuequeuequeue2 verb (past tense and past participle queued, present participle queuing or queueing) British English1[intransitive] (also queue up) to form or join a line of people or vehicles waiting to do something or go somewhereCustomers queued for hours to buy the new toy.I queued up at the travel centre to pick up my tickets.2[transitive]COMPUTING if a computer queues a job, it puts it in a list of jobs that are to be done in a particular orderInput or output requests to a file are queued by the operating system.→ See Verb tableOrigin queue (1500-1600) French “tail”, from Latin cauda, coda 