Commonly Confused Words

Cue vs. Queue

1 min read

Cue and queue sound the same, but they mean very different things. Mixing them up can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

Cue

Cue is usually a noun or a verb meaning:

a signal or prompt to do something
a hint or reminder
a stick used in billiards or pool

That was my cue to start speaking.
The actor waited for his cue before entering.
He chalked his cue and took the shot.

Queue

Queue is a noun or a verb meaning:

a line of people or things waiting for something
to line up or to place in a line (including digital queues)

There was a long queue outside the store.
Please queue behind the yellow line.
I added the movie to my Netflix queue.

In American English, a line of people is usually called a line, but queue is common for digital lists.

💡 Tip

Cue → like a signal or a pool cue (short word = small signal).
Queue → looks long, like a long line of people.

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

The actor waited for his ___ before stepping on stage.

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Since vs. For

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Commonly Confused Words

Cue vs. Queue

1 min read

Cue and queue sound the same, but they mean very different things. Mixing them up can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

Cue

Cue is usually a noun or a verb meaning:

a signal or prompt to do something
a hint or reminder
a stick used in billiards or pool

That was my cue to start speaking.
The actor waited for his cue before entering.
He chalked his cue and took the shot.

Queue

Queue is a noun or a verb meaning:

a line of people or things waiting for something
to line up or to place in a line (including digital queues)

There was a long queue outside the store.
Please queue behind the yellow line.
I added the movie to my Netflix queue.

In American English, a line of people is usually called a line, but queue is common for digital lists.

💡 Tip

Cue → like a signal or a pool cue (short word = small signal).
Queue → looks long, like a long line of people.

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

The actor waited for his ___ before stepping on stage.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Common mistakes

Since vs. For

Conjugation

Articles with Abstract Nouns

Common confusions

Advise vs. Advice

A bit of theory

Bring vs. Take

Vocabulary

Punctuation in Parentheses

A bit of theory

Hard vs. Hardly / Late vs. Lately / Near vs. Nearly

Common confusions

Who's vs. Whose

Conjugation