[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/fifo/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [F](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/f/) / fifo

# fifo

noun and abbreviation (FIFO, also fifo)

«fifo» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (computing, maths) «First in, first out»: a rule where the first thing to come in is the first thing to go out, like a queue. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#m1)
2. (Australia, informal) «Fly-in fly-out»: a worker, often in a mine, who flies to work far away for some weeks and then flies home, as in «Dad is a FIFO worker». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#m2)

### In the lessons

In computing and maths lessons, FIFO describes a queue, like children lining up for lunch: the first child in the line is served first. Its opposite is LIFO (last in, first out), like a stack of plates. In Australia, many children in Western Australia and Queensland have FIFO parents working in mines.

### Examples

- A lunch queue works on FIFO: first in, first out. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x1)
- The printer prints pages in FIFO order. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x2)
- My dad is a FIFO worker on a mine in the Pilbara. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x3)
- FIFO families often use video calls to keep in touch. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x4)
- A stack of plates is LIFO, not FIFO. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x5)
- Shops use FIFO so older milk is sold first. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x6)

### Note

Said «FYE-foh». An abbreviation, not an ordinary word; usually written in capitals. The Australian sense is everyday talk there.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «fifo» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«fifo» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/fifo.html) on Mova free.