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Glite Dictionary
first in first out

first in first out

4.0
A way of keeping items so the oldest ones are used or sold first
  • noun
  • Specialized
: primero en entrar, primero en salir
  • To maintain product quality, the team follows a first in first out approach when stocking goods.

So like for example, the most common way is called FIFO, first in, first out, FIFO first in, first out.

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Examples

  • In a restaurant, food items are used on a first in first out basis to ensure freshness.

  • So like for example, the most common way is called FIFO, first in, first out, FIFO first in, first out.

    Rose Han

  • We found two useful orders last time, first in, first out, and last in first out.

  • And this is like the, the first in, first out rule of restaurant storage, right?

  • So at the grocery store, all right, is that a first in, first out or a last in, first out?

  • FIFO (first-in, first-out)

    Academic text (1994)

  • The inventory management system operates on a first in first out principle to minimize spoilage.

Synonyms

first come, first served
vsfirst in first out
3 3.2

People are helped in the order they arrive with no exceptions

is a procedural rule for items and processes rather than serving people
FIFO
vsfirst in first out
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A method of using or selling stock so the oldest items go first

is the general rule applied across inventory, accounting, and computing
first-come-first-serve
vsfirst in first out
  • US
3.9

People get things in the order they arrive, with no reservations

focuses on items, inventory, or computing use rather than customer service

Antonyms

last in first out
  • Specialized
6.9

An inventory method where the newest items are counted as sold first

Surface Forms

first in first out singular
first in first outs plural

Morphology

first + in + first + out

The phrase literally assembles the meanings of its parts: the earliest items that go “in” are the earliest to come “out,” so the system’s ordering is directly predictable from the constituents. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically and conceptually transparent (used in everyday contexts like queues or lines), so a B1 learner who knows 'first', 'in', and 'out' will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

First in first out comes from a simple image of a line or a store shelf where the thing that goes in first is taken out first. So, it means 'the first item to arrive is the first to be used, sold, or processed'.