cue

[[t]kju͟ː[/t]]

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cues, cueing, cued

1) N-COUNT: oft with poss In the theatre or in a musical performance, a performer's cue is something another performer says or does that is a signal for them to begin speaking, playing, or doing something.

The actors not performing sit at the side of the stage in full view, waiting for their cues...

I had never known him miss a cue.

2) VERB If one performer cues another, they say or do something which is a signal for the second performer to begin speaking, playing, or doing something.

[V n] He read the scene, with Seaton cueing him.

3) N-COUNT: oft N for n, N to-inf If you say that something that happens is a cue for an action, you mean that people start doing that action when it happens.

That was the cue for several months of intense bargaining...

That was Nicholas's cue to ask for another chocolate chip cookie.

4) N-COUNT A cue is a long, thin wooden stick that is used to hit the ball in games such as snooker, billiards, and pool.

Their youngest brother was nine when he picked up a cue for the first time.

5) PHRASE If you say that something happened on cue or as if on cue, you mean that it happened just when it was expected to happen, or just at the right time.

Kevin arrived right on cue to care for Harry...

`It's almost eight o'clock.' As if on cue the bell in the chapel began to toll for Matins.

6) PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR from n If you take your cue from someone or something, you do something similar in a particular situation.

Taking his cue from his companion, he apologized for his earlier display of temper.