cue card

American

noun

Television.

a large card, out of range of the camera, on which words or phrases have been printed in large letters for the speaker or performer to read or use as a memory aid during a program.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We're shown the cue card hub backstage, which has been set up by Wally Feresten, a legend in the business who has worked on SNL for more than 30 years.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

“We’ve used that cue card, like, 15 times.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2025

I have that cue card in my car.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023

Forced to stay, he displayed his typical incompetence, mistakenly reading the entirety of a cue card aloud on the air: "We'll stay on the air until a winner is declared. Take off glasses, look concerned."

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2023

Ms. Whitlock exclaimed like she was reading it off a cue card.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023