QUEUE

queue

(noun) a braid of hair at the back of the head

queue

(noun) (information processing) an ordered list of tasks to be performed or messages to be transmitted

queue, waiting line

(noun) a line of people or vehicles waiting for something

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

queue (plural queues)

(heraldry) An animal's tail. [from 16th c.]

(now historical) A men's hairstyle whose primary attribute is a braid or ponytail at the back of the head, such as that worn by men in Imperial China. [from 18th c.]

A line of people, vehicles or other objects, in which 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). [from 19th c.]

A waiting list or other means of organizing people or objects into a first-come-first-served order.

(computing) A data structure in which objects are added to one end, called the tail, and removed from the other, called the head (- a FIFO queue). The term can also refer to a LIFO queue or stack where these ends coincide. [from 20th c.]

Synonyms

• (line of people, vehicles, etc): line (US), lineup (Canada)

Hyponyms

• circular queue

• double-ended queue

• message queue

• priority queue

• reference queue

Verb

queue (third-person singular simple present queues, present participle queuing or queueing, simple past and past participle queued)

(intransitive) To put oneself or itself at the end of a waiting line.

(intransitive) To arrange themselves into a physical waiting queue.

(computing, transitive) To add to a queue data structure.

To fasten the hair into a queue.

Synonyms

• (place itself at the end of a queue): join a queue, join the queue, line up

Source: Wiktionary


Queue, n. Etym: [F. See Cue.] (a) A tail-like appendage of hair; a pigtail. (b) A line of persons waiting anywhere.

Queue, v. t.

Definition: To fasten, as hair, in a queue.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

29 May 2025

CRITICAL

(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”


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