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cue

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The definition of a cue is a signal to a person to do something.

(noun)

An example of cue is a word in a play telling an actor when to come on stage.
An example of cue is a girlfriend hinting to her boyfriend that she'd like to get married.

Cue is defined as a long handled rod with a tip that is used to shoot the ball when playing billiards.

(noun)

An example of cue is what a person would use to hit a ball when playing pool.

See cue in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a bit of dialogue, action, or music that is a signal for an actor's entrance or speech, or for the working of curtains, lights, sound effects, etc.
Music a gesture or written device used to signal the entry of one or more instrumentalists or vocalists
anything serving as a signal to do something
an indirect suggestion; hint
Now Rare
1. the role that one is assigned to play
2. a necessary course of action
Archaic frame of mind; mood; temperament
Psychol. a secondary stimulus that guides behavior, often without entering consciousness

Origin: < q, Q, used in plays in 16th & 17th c. to indicate actors' entrances; prob. abbrev. of some L word (as quando, when, qualis, in what manner)

transitive verb cued, cuing or cueing

to give a cue to

noun

queue ()
a long, tapering, tipped rod used in billiards and pool to strike the cue ball
a long, shovel-like stick used in shuffleboard to push the disks

Origin: var. of queue

transitive verb cued, cuing or cueing

to braid (hair)
to strike (a cue ball) with a cue

See cue in American Heritage Dictionary 4

cue¹

noun

Games A long tapered rod with a leather tip used to strike the cue ball in billiards and pool.
Games A long stick with a concave attachment at one end for shoving disks in shuffleboard.
A queue of hair.
A line of waiting people or vehicles; a queue.

verb cued cued, cuing cu·ing, cues

verb, transitive

Games To strike with a cue.
To braid or twist (hair) into a queue.

verb, intransitive

To form a line or queue.

Origin: Variant of queue.

cue²

noun

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.
a. A reminder or prompting.
b. A hint or suggestion.
Music
a. 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.
b. A gesture by a conductor signaling the entrance of a performer or part.
Psychology A stimulus, either consciously or unconsciously perceived, that elicits or signals a type of behavior.
Archaic One's assigned role or function.
Archaic A mood; a disposition.

transitive verb cued cued, cuing cu·ing, cues

To give a cue to; signal or prompt.
To insert into the sequence of a performance: cued the lights for the monologue scene.
To position (an audio or video recording) in readiness for playing: cue up a record on the turntable.

Phrasal Verb: cue in To give information or instructions to, as to a latecomer.

Origin: Perhaps from q, qu, abbreviation of Latin quandō, when, used for actors' copies of plays; see k^wo- in Indo-European roots.

cue³

noun

The letter q.

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