cue
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The last words of a play actor's speech, serving as an intimation for the next actor to speak.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kyooIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkju
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The name of the Latin-script letter Q/q.
An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something.
The last words of a play actor's speech, serving as an intimation for the next actor to speak; any word or words which serve to remind an actor to speak or to do something; a catchword.
A hint or intimation.
verb
To give someone a cue signal.
To form into a cue; to braid; to twist.
by extension
To spark or provoke.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The last words of a play actor's speech, serving as an intimation for the next actor to speak; any word or words which serve to remind an actor to speak or to do something; a catchword.
Used this way, cue is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use cue
- “The stage manager gave the actor his cue to enter.”
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.