From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcuecue1 /kjuː/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 SIGN/INDICATIONan action or event that is a signal for something else to happencue for Our success was the cue for other companies to press ahead with new investment.somebody’s cue to do something I think that’s my cue to explain why I’m here.2 SIGN/INDICATIONa word, phrase, or action in a play that is a signal for the next person to speak or act She stood nervously in the wings waiting for her cue.miss your cue (=not speak or act when you are supposed to)3 → (right/as if) on cue4 → take your cue from somebody5 
DGSa long straight wooden stick used for hitting the ball in games such as billiards and pool
DGSa long straight wooden stick used for hitting the ball in games such as billiards and poolExamples from the Corpus
cue• He was irritated when a cue to speak interrupted his imagining.• There are cues that signify congestion.• Use the leash to give the dog cues about what you want him to do.• The woman takes her cue from the guy eventually.• Black, taking his cue from the darkness, stands up from his spot and extends his hand to Blue.• Some people can cope with hearing loss by using other cues to meaning.• The idea is to see if the terms on which bargainers settle can be influenced by such cues.• The audience will take cues from you.• Thus the cues of subordinates, peers, supervisors, family and friends become important triggers to arousal.• The cue maker then carefully chooses and seasons the wood, before tapering and sanding it down on a lathe.somebody’s cue to do something• He was irritated when a cue to speak interrupted his imagining.• However, they are probably too infrequent to provide hearers with cues to ethnicity.• I took my cue to go, and left without a backward glance or wave.• It was hard to tell whether Greene was giving cues to the crowd or taking them from it.• Nice touches include steam vents that cast lingering clouds over the courses and new audio cues to warn of danger.• The children are encouraged to use frustrating experiences as a cue to employ the turtle reaction.• The system involves classifying lip-patterns which look alike and providing cues to disambiguate them.• The words sounded like an impending cue to announce his lecture, but Stafford had only spoken for twenty-eight minutes.miss your cue• As soon as anyone misses their cue they return to number one and all those below the number move up one.cuecue2 verb [transitive] SIGN/INDICATIONto give someone a sign that it is the right moment for them to speak or do something, especially during a performance The studio manager will cue you when it’s your turn to come on. → cue something ↔ up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
cue• Best to sit back and cue him up for the one-liners.• It takes a trained and sensitive therapist to cue in to your personal needs.• I didn't have a solid grasp of myself - I depended on other people and surroundings to cue me.• The child's behaviour may then cue the adult as to how successful was the initial interpretation.• It was still 1-1 after extra time, so cue the dreaded penalty shootout.• When the sun goes down, the eyes cue the gland to start pumping melatonin.• This will cue the waiter to refill it.Origin cue1 1. (1500-1600) Probably from qu, short form of Latin quando “when”, used as a direction in actors' copies of plays. 2. (1700-1800) French queue “tail, cue”, from Latin cauda 