Meaning
In British English, a queue is a line of people or vehicles waiting for something, and to queue means to wait in or form such a line.
How it is used
Cambridge Dictionary marks the waiting-line noun and verb senses as mainly UK English and contrasts them with US line or line up. Collins likewise labels queue as mainly British for a line of people or vehicles waiting and records the verb meaning to form or remain in that line.
Examples
- “Is this the queue for tickets?”
- “We had to queue for about twenty minutes.”
- “Please join the queue at the back.”
Pronunciation
/kjuː/ · KYOO
Tone and register
Neutral, standard, and extremely common in British English. Queue is not slang.
Visitor guidance
Visitors should understand join the queue, queue here, and queue up as ordinary instructions to wait in line. Jump the queue means moving ahead of others without waiting your turn and is normally disapproving. The word also has technical computing senses, so context matters outside everyday public situations.
Cultural context
Queue is practical visitor vocabulary because it appears in station announcements, ticketing, shops, attractions, airports, events, and ordinary conversation. The British preference for queue over American line is a familiar regional vocabulary difference, but both words are understandable in the UK.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.