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cue
1[ kyoo ]
noun
- anything said or done, on or off stage, that is followed by a specific line or action:
An off-stage door slam was his cue to enter.
Synonyms: signal
- anything that excites to action; stimulus.
- a hint; intimation; guiding suggestion.
- the part a person is to play; a prescribed or necessary course of action.
- a sensory signal used to identify experiences, facilitate memory, or organize responses.
- Archaic. frame of mind; mood.
verb (used with object)
- to provide with a cue or indication; give a cue to; prompt:
Will you cue me on my lines?
- to insert, or direct to come in, in a specific place in a musical or dramatic performance (usually followed by in or into ):
to cue in a lighting effect.
- to search for and reach (a specific track on a recording) (sometimes followed by up ).
cue
2[ kyoo ]
noun
- a long, tapering rod, tipped with a soft leather pad, used to strike the ball in billiards, pool, etc.
- a long, usually wooden stick with a concave head, used to propel the disks in shuffleboard.
- a queue or braid of hair worn behind the head.
- a queue or file, as of persons awaiting their turn.
verb (used with object)
- to tie into a queue.
- to strike with a cue.
cue
3[ kyoo ]
noun
- the letter Q, q.
cue
1/ kjuː /
noun
- (in the theatre, films, music, etc) anything spoken or done that serves as a signal to an actor, musician, etc, to follow with specific lines or action
- on cue at the right moment
- a signal or reminder to do something
- psychol the part of any sensory pattern that is identified as the signal for a response
- the part, function, or action assigned to or expected of a person
verb
- tr to give a cue or cues to (an actor)
- usually foll byin or into to signal (to something or somebody) at a specific moment in a musical or dramatic performance
to cue in a flourish of trumpets
- tr to give information or a reminder to (someone)
- intr to signal the commencement of filming, as with the word "Action!"
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Word History and Origins
Origin of cue1
Origin of cue2
Origin of cue3
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Word History and Origins
Origin of cue1
Origin of cue2
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Idioms and Phrases
- cue (someone) in, Informal. to inform; give instructions, information, news, etc., to:
Cue him in on the plans for the dance.
- miss a cue,
- to fail to respond to a cue.
- Informal. to miss the point:
You could tell by his expression that he had missed a cue.
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Example Sentences
Cue heartbroken Galavant engorging himself on booze and mutton back home.
The blast was a stupefying white flash followed by a body-shaking howl, and it was the cue for a maelstrom of metallic shrieks.
She did not weep on cue in public when Monteith died, or seek sympathy.
Affleck, as if on cue, challenged Harris: “Are you the person who understands the officially codified doctrine of Islam?”
Cue a series of shots of these veteran actors dusting off their best revenge faces.
"This organized conspiracy on your part," the capstan gurgled, taking his cue from the mast.
Eliza, glancing at Miss Prall, took her cue and looked disdainful of the whole affair.
Next came Coronado, as happy as a disappointed burglar whose cue it is to congratulate the rescuing policeman.
He has quite a clerical look, and, if he hadn't, his voice would give the cue to his profession.
Others of the conspirators, however, took Fislar's bold cue and stoutly corroborated him.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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