cue

9 definitions • 8 examples

a word or action in a play or film that is used as a signal by a performer to begin saying or doing something

a signal for someone to do something:

[ + to infinitive ] They started washing up, so that was our cue to leave the party.

If something happens on cue, it happens just after someone has said or thought it would happen:

I was just wondering where Sarah was, when, right on cue, she came in.

to take notice of someone's words or behaviour so that you know what you should do:

She watched his lips carefully and took her cue from him.

a long, thin wooden pole with a small piece of leather at one end, used for hitting the ball in games such as billiards or snooker

to give someone a signal to do something:

cue someone in With a nod of his head, the drummer cued the lead singer in.

used when saying that you expect a particular thing to happen next:

At this point in a film the villain usually enters the plot. Cue scary background music.

This is the best game I've ever seen. (Cue everyone commenting to tell me they've seen better.)

a signal for someone to do or say something, esp. in a play or movie:

She waited for her cue – the ring of the telephone – to come on stage.

Being passed over for promotion twice was his cue to start looking for another job.

in the game of pool, a long, round, wooden stick held at one end and used to hit a white ball and move it against another or other balls to roll them into holes around the edge of a table covered with cloth