Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Queue up and line up
You arrive before a museum opens. Several visitors are already waiting one behind another.
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
queue up
Join or form a line and wait for your turn; mainly British English.
Example
“We queued up for museum tickets.”
We waited in a line to get museum tickets.
The short answer
Queue up means wait in a line for your turn. In American English, line up is more common. For this situation, both describe the same action.
Name the waiting line, then add its purpose or place.
Use queue up for + the thing people want, or queue up at + a place. The past form is queued up. In an American setting, line up and lined up usually sound more familiar. Up does not describe moving upstairs here.
Compare the examples
We queued up for museum tickets.
We lined up for museum tickets.
Please line up at the entrance.
You can also say wait in line in American English. It focuses directly on waiting.
Build the meaning step by step
Say the action
We lined up.
Add what you waited for
We lined up for the shuttle.
Try it now
Understand the line
Read all answers and explanations
People queued up for tickets. Which sentence describes the same action in common American wording?
People lined up for tickets.Lined up describes the waiting line. Checking in is registration; leaving the line is a different action.
Complete the past event: Yesterday, we ___ for the shuttle.
queued upQueued up is the past form. Queuing up alone is not a complete past verb here.
Use for to say what you waited to obtain.
We queued up for tickets.For tickets gives the purpose. At the door is a place; after lunch is a time.
Build it yourself
Build a line-up request
Ask visitors to line up at the entrance. Use every piece and start with Please.
Keep line up together, then add the place. Select a piece again to move it back.
Your request
0 of 4 piecesYour chosen pieces will appear here.
See a model answer
Please line up at the entrance.
The request uses the common American expression and tells visitors where to wait.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Is queue up wrong in American English?
No. The difference is usual wording, not a rule that Americans cannot understand or use it. Line up is the more common everyday choice for people waiting.
Please line up here.
Can I include both a purpose and a place?
Yes. Keep the information clear: for introduces what you want, and at can introduce where the line is.
We lined up for tickets at the museum entrance.
Take it into your day
Queue up: mainly British. Line up: usual American wording for the same waiting-line action.
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