Line up means to stand in a row or join a queue: line up for tickets. The second meaning is to arrange something in advance: line up a speaker, have a job lined up. The last one means the job has already been found and agreed, so there's nothing left to look for.
Want to use line up in conversation?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
line up (for + thing); line up + people/objects; line up + speaker/meeting; have + something + lined up
- We lined up for almost an hour to get into the museum on Sunday.
- Please line up the chairs along the wall before the meeting starts.
- She isn't nervous about graduating because she already has a job lined up.
What changed
First versionHundreds of fans lined up after tickets for the concert.
RevisionHundreds of fans lined up for tickets for the concert.
After means “later than” or “following”; it doesn't show the purpose of a queue. To say what people are queuing to get, use for: line up for tickets, line up for coffee.
In British English, an ordinary queue is more often described with the verb queue: We queued for twenty minutes. Line up is understood there too, especially when people are asked to stand in a row: The children lined up in the playground. The noun lineup means the list of participants: the festival lineup.
Your turn
I'm not worried about the summer: I already have a part-time job ___ in a café.
Show the answer
lined up — Have a job lined up means the job is already found and waiting for you. Take up a job means to start working, and it isn't used in the pattern have a job ___.
Describe something you've already arranged for the coming month. Name one plan and say who you arranged it with.
I've got a meeting with a new client lined up for next Tuesday, and we've agreed to discuss the spring campaign.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.