Meaning & use
pool cue
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Meaning
nouncountable
A long, thin stick used to hit the balls in games such as pool and billiards.
Grammar: Countable: one cue, two cues. Usually written as two words, and often shortened to just 'cue' once the game is clear.
Patterns
- hit the ball with a pool cue
- chalk a pool cue
- a pool cue tip
He leaned over the table and lined up his pool cue behind the white ball.
The pool cue had a small blue tip that needed chalking before every shot.
She bought a new pool cue with a leather case for her birthday.
Word forms
| plural | pool cues |
|---|
Common combinations
- chalk a pool cue
- Players chalk a pool cue between shots so the tip grips the ball.
- the tip of a pool cue
- The tip of a pool cue is usually made of leather.
- a pool cue rack
- There is a wooden pool cue rack on the wall of the bar.
- break with a pool cue
- He broke with a pool cue that was slightly too heavy for him.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cue
- The short form is normal in speech once everyone knows which game you mean; 'pool cue' is clearer when the sport is not obvious.
- billiard cue
- Used for the same kind of stick in billiards, a related table game, rather than in pool.
Word family
- cue noun
- The general word for this kind of stick, also used in snooker and billiards.
- pool table noun
- The table with pockets on which pool is played.
- pool hall noun
- A place where people pay to play pool.
Commonly confused: pool cue or queue?
pool cue vs queue
'Queue' sounds the same in British English and means a line of waiting people or a list of items, not a stick.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'pool cue' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A pool cue is the stick used to strike the ball, so 'hit the white ball with his pool cue' fits. Option 0 confuses it with 'queue' (a line), option 2 confuses it with 'pollo' or 'pulao' (food), and option 3 treats it as a road or bridge.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pool cue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.