Meaning & use
cues
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“cues” is a form of “cue”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Signals, such as words or actions, that tell someone when to do something, especially for performers.
Grammar: Plural of cue: she missed her cues.
Patterns
- miss your cues
- wait for your cues
The actor missed two cues and the scene went silent.
The stage manager gave cues through the headset.
The drummer watches the conductor for his cues.
nounplural
Hints or signs that help you understand a situation or decide how to act.
Grammar: Often used with social, visual or other describing words.
Patterns
- cues from someone
- cues about something
Babies read social cues from their parents' faces.
The dog picked up on cues that its owner was upset.
Visual cues in the sign made the road layout easy to understand.
verbtransitive
Gives a signal to someone to begin, or prepares a piece of audio or video to start.
Grammar: Third person singular of cue; takes an object: she cues the actor.
Patterns
- someone cues someone
- someone cues something up
The director cues the lights at the end of every scene.
She cues the next song while the crowd claps.
He cues the singer with a nod.
Word forms
| singular noun | cue |
|---|---|
| past | cued |
| -ing form | cuing |
Common combinations
- social cues
- Some people find social cues hard to read.
- miss cues
- A nervous actor can miss cues.
- take cues from
- Younger staff take cues from the manager.
- visual cues
- Visual cues help learners remember the words.
- pick up on cues
- A good teacher picks up on cues from the class.
Synonyms and how they differ
- signals
- Signals is a wider term for any message by sign or sound, while cues usually prompt a particular action at the right time.
- hints
- Hints are indirect clues meant to help you guess, whereas cues often tell someone exactly when to act.
- prompts
- Prompts usually involve words that remind a performer or a student of what to say, while cues often can be silent signals.
- indications
- Indications is more formal and refers to signs of something, not signals to act.
Word family
Commonly confused: cues or queues? cues or clues?
cues vs queues
Queues are lines of people waiting; cues are signals or hints, although the two words sound the same.
cues vs clues
Clues are pieces of evidence for solving a mystery, while cues tell you when or how to act.
Practice
The actors waited in the wings for their ___ before walking on stage.
Choose one answer.
Cues are the signals that tell performers when to enter. Queues sounds the same but means lines of people, and clues relates to solving mysteries.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cues”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.