queue
/kjuː/
"queue" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“queue” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,946. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #9,946
- frequency rank, English
- 288
- “Q” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A line of people, vehicles or other objects, usually one to be dealt with in sequence (i.e., the one at the front end is dealt with first, the one behind is dealt with next, and so on), and which n...
Corpus desk
Index EN-queue · queue · English
queue · rank #9,946 · 5 variants · 14 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,946
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 288
- PHOTO-FINISH questionable
Nearest frequency peer: questionable (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “queue”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Python
Python
90,058 corpus weight
- Qatar
Qatar
90,057 corpus weight
- questionable
questionable
90,056 corpus weight
- queue
queue
90,055 corpus weight
- quo
quo
90,054 corpus weight
- render
render
90,052 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “queue” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | queue |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kjuː/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #9,946 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “queue” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around queue (IPA /kjuː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,946 among 288 “Q” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for queue, with forms such as "qeuue", "qqueue", and "queeu". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "quite", "quote", "queues", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is queue, spelled Q-U-E-U-E.
Definition
- 1A line of people, vehicles or other objects, usually one to be dealt with in sequence (i.e., the 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).
- 2A waiting list or other means of organizing people or objects into a first-come-first-served order.
- 3A data structure in which objects are added to one end, called the tail, and removed from the other, called the head (in the case of a FIFO queue). The term can also refer to a LIFO queue or stack where these ends coincide.
- 4An animal's tail.
- 5A men's hairstyle with a braid or ponytail at the back of the head, such as that worn by men in Imperial China.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how queue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I was absent-minded at the moment and was last in the queue.
In a report published on October 31, Transport Focus said that a number of train companies were unable to convince it about their ability to sell a full range of tickets, handle cash payments, and avoid excessive queues at ticket machines.
Etymology
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.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- qeuue
- qqueue
- queeu
- quuee
- uqeue
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of queue - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "queue"?
What does "queue" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "queue", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "queue". Here's where to go from here.
- "queue" maps to 14 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "quite". View pair
- 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #9,946 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "Q" letter cohort. Q–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.