take one's cue from

verb

To copy; to do something in the same way as.

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Meanings

verbtake one's cue from (third-person singular simple present takes one's cue from, present participle taking one's cue from, simple past took one's cue from, past participle taken one's cue from)

present singular third person takes one's cue from · participle present taking one's cue from · past took one's cue from · participle past taken one's cue from

  1. To copy; to do something in the same way as.

    She yanked her head over her shoulder and, taking her cue from the rat in the laboratory, she sank her teeth into Burt’s arm as hard as she could.

    2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN

Translations

German sich ein Beispiel an etwas nehmen
  • sich ein Beispiel an etwas nehmenTo copy; to do something in the same way as
Cite this entry
APA

take one's cue from. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20cue%20from

MLA

“take one's cue from.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20cue%20from. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take one's cue from,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20cue%20from.

Source: take one's cue from on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.