[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/fifo.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / fifo

[← F](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/F/)

# fifo

«fifo» in Mova's school dictionary: **«First in, first out»: a rule where the first thing to…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun and abbreviation (FIFO, also fifo)

### meaning for a pupil

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://md.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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#m2)

### sense 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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x1)
- The printer prints pages in FIFO order. [tree →](https://md.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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x3)
- FIFO families often use video calls to keep in touch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x4)
- A stack of plates is LIFO, not FIFO. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/#x5)
- Shops use FIFO so older milk is sold first. [tree →](https://md.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.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «fifo» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fifo/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.