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cue - 12 dictionary results

cue

1  [kyoo] noun, verb, cued, cu⋅ing.
Use cue in a Sentence
–noun
1. 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.
2. anything that excites to action; stimulus.
3. a hint; intimation; guiding suggestion.
4. the part a person is to play; a prescribed or necessary course of action.
5. a sensory signal used to identify experiences, facilitate memory, or organize responses.
6. Archaic. frame of mind; mood.
–verb (used with object)
7. to provide with a cue or indication; give a cue to; prompt: Will you cue me on my lines?
8. to insert, or direct to come in, in a specific place in a musical or dramatic performance (usually fol. by in or into): to cue in a lighting effect.
9. to search for and reach (a specific track on a recording) (sometimes fol. by up).
—Idioms
10. cue (someone) in, Informal. to inform; give instructions, information, news, etc., to: Cue him in on the plans for the dance.
11. miss a cue,
a. to fail to respond to a cue.
b. Informal. to miss the point: You could tell by his expression that he had missed a cue.
Origin:
1545–55; spelled name of the letter q as an abbreviation (found in acting scripts) of L quandō when

Synonyms:
1. signal. 3. sign, clue, key, tip, inkling.

cue

2  [kyoo] noun, verb, cued, cu⋅ing.
–noun
1. a long, tapering rod, tipped with a soft leather pad, used to strike the ball in billiards, pool, etc.
2. a long, usually wooden stick with a concave head, used to propel the disks in shuffleboard.
3. a queue of hair.
4. a queue or file, as of persons awaiting their turn.
–verb (used with object)
5. to tie into a queue.
6. to strike with a cue.
Origin:
1725–35; < F queue tail, OF coue < L cōda, earlier cauda tail; cf. coward, queue

cue

3  [kyoo]
–noun
the letter Q, q.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME cu; conventional adaptation in spelling of the letter name
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cue
cue 1   (kyōō)   
n.  
  1. Games A long tapered rod with a leather tip used to strike the cue ball in billiards and pool.
  2. Games A long stick with a concave attachment at one end for shoving disks in shuffleboard.
  3. A queue of hair.
  4. A line of waiting people or vehicles; a queue.
v.   cued, cu·ing, cues

v.   tr.
  1. Games To strike with a cue.
  2. To braid or twist (hair) into a queue.
v.   intr.
To form a line or queue.

[Variant of queue.]
cue 2   (kyōō)   
n.  
  1. A signal, such as a word or action, used to prompt another event in a performance, such as an actor's speech or entrance, a change in lighting, or a sound effect.
    1. A reminder or prompting.
    2. A hint or suggestion.
    3. An extract from the music for another part printed, usually in smaller notes, within a performer's part as a signal to enter after a long rest.
    4. A gesture by a conductor signaling the entrance of a performer or part.
  3. Music
    1. An extract from the music for another part printed, usually in smaller notes, within a performer's part as a signal to enter after a long rest.
    2. A gesture by a conductor signaling the entrance of a performer or part.
  4. Psychology A stimulus, either consciously or unconsciously perceived, that elicits or signals a type of behavior.
  5. Archaic One's assigned role or function.
  6. Archaic A mood; a disposition.
tr.v.   cued, cu·ing, cues
  1. To give a cue to; signal or prompt.
  2. To insert into the sequence of a performance: cued the lights for the monologue scene.
  3. To position (an audio or video recording) in readiness for playing: cue up a record on the turntable.
Phrasal Verb(s):
cue inTo give information or instructions to, as to a latecomer.

[Perhaps from q, qu, abbreviation of Latin quandō, when, used for actors' copies of plays; see kwo- in Indo-European roots.]
cue 3   (kyōō)   
n.  The letter q.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cue

Cue\ (k[=u]), n. [ OF. coue, coe, F. queue, fr. L. coda, cauda, tail. Cf. Caudal, Coward, Queue.]

1. The tail; the end of a thing; especially, a tail-like twist of hair worn at the back of the head; a queue.

2. The last words of a play actor's speech, serving as an intimation for the next succeeding player to speak; any word or words which serve to remind a player to speak or to do something; a catchword.

When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer. --Shak.

3. A hint or intimation.

Give them [the servants] their cue to attend in two lines as he leaves the house. --Swift.

4. The part one has to perform in, or as in, a play.

Were it my cueto fight, I should have known it Without a prompter. --Shak.

5. Humor; temper of mind. [Colloq.] --Dickens.

6. A straight tapering rod used to impel the balls in playing billiards.

Cue

Cue\, v. t. To form into a cue; to braid; to twist.

Cue

Cue\, n. [From q, an abbreviation for quadrans a farthing.] A small portion of bread or beer; the quantity bought with a farthing or half farthing. [Obs.]

Note: The term was formerly current in the English universities, the letter q being the mark in the buttery books to denote such a portion. --Nares.

Hast thou worn Gowns in the university, tossed logic, Sucked philosophy, eat cues? --Old Play.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : cue
Spanish: pie,
German: das Stichwort,
Japanese: きっかけ
More Translations »

cue  (1)
"stage direction," 1553, from Q, used 16c., 17c. in plays to indicate actors' entrances, probably abbrev. of L. quando "when" or a similar word. The verb is 1928, from the noun.

cue  (2)
"billiard stick," 1749, var. of queue (q.v.). Cue ball first recorded 1881.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: cue
Pronunciation: 'kyü
Function: noun
: a minor stimulus acting as an indication of the nature of the perceived object or situationcues to depth perception>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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