# queue

> English word · Noun · IPA /kjuː/ · frequency rank #9,946

## Definitions
1. 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 newcomers join at the opposite end (the back).
2. A waiting list or other means of organizing people or objects into a first-come-first-served order.
3. A 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.
4. An animal's tail.
5. A men's hairstyle with a braid or ponytail at the back of the head, such as that worn by men in Imperial China.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **quite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queue-vs-quite)
- **quote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queue-vs-quote)
- **queues** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queue-vs-queues)
- **queued** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queue-vs-queued)
- **que** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/que-vs-queue)
- **queen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-queue)
- **quest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quest-vs-queue)
- **queer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queer-vs-queue)
- **query** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/query-vs-queue)
- **quake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quake-vs-queue)
- **quell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quell-vs-queue)
- **Quebec** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quebec-vs-queue)
- **q** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/q-vs-queue)
- **cue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cue-vs-queue)

## Common misspellings (5)
`qeuue`, `qqueue`, `queeu`, `quuee`, `uqeue`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/queue