I. ˈkyü noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English cu
1. : the letter q
2. dialect England : the shoe of an ox
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from q, qu, abbreviation (used as a direction in actors' copies of plays) of Latin quando when — more at quantity
1.
a. : a word, phrase, or bit of stage business in a play serving as a signal to the actor who is to act or speak next that it is time for him to begin
b. : a similar signal to a member of the stage crew to begin a particular operation (as producing a sound effect or lighting change)
c. : a musical passage from another instrumental or voice part inserted usually in smaller type in an instrumental or accompanying part to signal a place of entrance or to permit substitution or doubling
2.
a. : a signal to begin an action : stimulus
b. : a hint, intimation, or suggestion as to what course of action to take or when to take it
the Cairo press, which takes its cue carefully from the government in political affairs — R.C.Doty
c. : an item or feature acting as an indication of the nature of the object or situation perceived
a subliminal hearing cue
foreshortened lines in a picture are cues to depth perception
3. : the part one has to perform in or as if in a play
was it my cue to fight? — Shakespeare
4. archaic : attitude of mind : mood , temper , humor
nobody was in the cue to dance — Nathaniel Hawthorne
III. transitive verb
( cued ; cued ; cuing or cueing ; cues )
1. : to give a cue to (as in a play) : prompt
2. : to insert (a musical passage) as or provide (a musical score) with a cue — usually used with in
3. : cue-bid
4. : to insert or provide for the insertion of into a continuous performance — usually used with in or into
cue a duet into the scene
cue in a sound effect
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: French queue, literally, tail, from Old French cöe, coue — more at coward
1. : queue 2
2.
a. : a leather-tipped tapering rod used to strike the ball in billiards and other games
b. : a long-handled instrument with a concave head used to shove the disks in shuffleboard
V. verb
( cued ; cued ; cuing or cueing ; cues )
transitive verb
1. : to form into a queue : braid , twist
2. : to strike (as a billiard ball) with a cue
intransitive verb
1. : to line up in a queue — usually used with up
2. : to use a cue : strike with a cue