queen
noun
a female sovereign or monarch.
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queen
1 American
[kween]
/ kwin /
noun
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queens
plural
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a female sovereign or monarch.
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the wife or consort of a king.
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a woman, or something personified as a woman, that is foremost or preeminent in any respect.
a movie queen; a beauty queen; Athens, the queen of the Aegean.
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Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to a gay man, especially one who is flamboyantly campy or effeminate.
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a playing card bearing a picture of a queen.
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Chess. the most powerful piece of either color, moved across any number of empty squares in any direction.
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Entomology. a fertile female ant, bee, termite, or wasp.
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a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter Q.
verb (used without object)
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queens,
present (3rd person singular)
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queened,
past participle, past
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queening
present participle
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to reign as queen.
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to behave in an imperious or pretentious manner (usually followed byit ).
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Chess. to become promoted to a queen.
Queen
2
American
[kween]
/ kwin /
noun
queen
1
British
/ kwiːn /
noun
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a female sovereign who is the official ruler or head of state
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the wife or widow of a king
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a woman or a thing personified as a woman considered the best or most important of her kind
a beauty queen
the queen of ocean liners
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slang an effeminate male homosexual
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the only fertile female in a colony of social insects, such as bees, ants, and termites, from the eggs of which the entire colony develops
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( as modifier )
a queen bee
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an adult female cat
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one of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a queen
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a chess piece, theoretically the most powerful piece, able to move in a straight line in any direction or diagonally, over any number of squares
verb
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chess to promote (a pawn) to a queen when it reaches the eighth rank
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(tr) to crown as queen
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informal (intr) (of a gay man) to flaunt one's homosexuality
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(intr) to reign as queen
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informal (often foll by over) to behave in an overbearing manner
Queen
2
British
/ kwiːn /
noun
Sensitive Note
The term queen is usually used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting when in reference to a gay man, especially one considered to be effeminate or flamboyant. However, within the gay community, it is sometimes used in a friendly, teasing, or facetious manner, and can also be a positive term of self-reference.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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queensimple
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queenssimple
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have queenedperfect
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has queenedperfect
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am queeningprogressive
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are queeningprogressive
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is queeningprogressive
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have been queeningperfect progressive
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has been queeningperfect progressive
Past
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queenedsimple
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had queenedperfect
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was queeningprogressive
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were queeningprogressive
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had been queeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of queen
First recorded before 900; Middle English quene, quen, Old English cwēn “woman, queen”; cognate with Old Saxon quān, Old Norse kvān, Gothic qēns, from unattested Germanic kwēni-; akin to Old Irish ben, Greek gynḗ woman, Russian zhená, Sanskrit jani “wife”
Explanation
In a monarchy, a queen is the female ruler of the country. Whether you are the Queen of England or the queen of a honey bee colony, you are the female in charge. A queen inherits the title and the job, either from her father (the king) or her mother (the queen). Sometimes the term "queen consort" is used for a king's wife — in this case, the queen isn't the ruler, but merely married to the guy in charge. Many fairs, festivals, and other events crown an honorary queen, so you might be crowned the butter queen at the state fair. There's a queen in chess, the most powerful piece on the board, and a deck of cards has four queens. The most important bee in a colony is also a queen.
Vocabulary lists containing queen
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.
See Examples For:
With her distinctive husky voice, tousled mane of blonde hair and black eyeliner, Tyler was instantly recognisable as the queen of the 1980s power ballad.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
“The Rivals of Amziah King” is the story of one queen replacing another in order to keep the colony intact, but we’re not talking about bees at this point.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
When the slumber party started at 8 p.m., the eight attendees gathered in Tail Town’s front lobby, home to resident fluffy cat queen Miss Yvonne and office manager Grizzly Bear, a brown tabby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
In this tale of an imprisoned queen, her supposedly dead husband, and her struggle against a usurper, brilliantly characterized arias succeed each other like jewels, ratcheting up the emotion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
What had the fairy queen done to him?
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
His "spoof" contender was making him "look rather silly", Queen Mary University of London politics professor Stijn van Kessel told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“The chances of a majority Reform Parliament have pretty much disappeared,” says Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
With its genre-bending sound, Ray of Light went on to win three Grammy Awards and is still considered by many to be the Queen of Pop's greatest record.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne for the comics, the mutant-villain-turned-hero is a powerful telepath also known as the White Queen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
In fact, the clap of thunder was so loud no one could hear the Shadow Queen and her ribbons of dark trailing behind them.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
In eusocial colonies, reproduction is divided between queens and workers, creating highly cooperative societies with specialized roles.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
If they cannot find enough food, larvae develop more slowly, colonies grow less strongly and fewer new queens may be produced for the following year.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The fire on stage for Day 2 of the fest started early by a pack of drag queens led by Peaches Christ.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
It lived in the queens who could read a face from across the room, the regulars who noticed an absence and the staff who could feel the room change before anyone else did.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Way-back history, about queens and princes ruling Africa, and close-up history about black people breaking the chains of slavery.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Rxa8, and White soon to be queened pawn will help deliver checkmates in a couple of moves.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
Deleah, who if she had chosen might have queened it over them all.
From Mrs. Day's Daughters by Mary E. Mann
You have queened it long enough, my lady.
From Macaria by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans
Imagination conjured up scenes in the summer garden where the gay pretty girl had held her little court, and queened it over the grave, silent man.
From The Lady of the Basement Flat by Elizabeth Earnshaw
She still queened it over her own household; she alone still had the delightful task of making a man comfortable.
From Half Portions by Edna Ferber
Kxg2 b5!, and White resigns as he has no pawn on b2 to stop Black’s a-pawn from queening after 49. axb5 a4.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 29, 2022
Ng7, and Black had to resign as the pawn has a clear path to the queening square after the queen checks run out.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 7, 2021
Qxh7 picks off the piece while retaining control of the b1 queening square.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 5, 2021
There would have been no Elton John, queening in front of millions, or David Bowie, who freely credited Little Richard’s inspiration.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2020
How they had imagined her ornamenting its stately rooms, sweeping through the great halls, and queening it to her happy heart's content, a fit inmate to its splendor.
From Six Girls A Home Story by Frank T. (Frank Thayer) Merrill
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
