Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

priority queue
     
         A data structure with three operations: insert a
        new item, return the highest priority item, and remove the
        highest priority item.  The obvious way to represent priority
        queues is by maintaining a sorted list but this can make the
        insert operation very slow.  Greater efficiency can be
        achieved by using {heaps}.
     
        (1996-03-12)