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:
He cites Black cultural figures like the queen of salsa Celia Cruz, American fashion journalist André Leon Talley, the late French singer and dancer Josephine Baker and political activist Assata Shakur as guiding lights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
"Claudiapatra!" gasped model and actress Jerry Hall - spotting similarities in both grandeur and hairstyles between Claudia and Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Sporting knee-high boots and her platinum tresses loose, the 68-year-old pop queen sang "Bring Your Love" alongside Sabrina Carpenter before medleying with Charli XCX for "Danceteria."
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Viewers of Tudor period dramas will know Elizabeth I as history’s dressiest queen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
If the fairy queen failed, they were all dead.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
This historic 19th century royal jewelry set featuring fine Ceylon sapphires, diamonds and gold, famously associated with Queen Hortense and Queen Marie-Amélie, was partially stolen in the Musée du Louvre heist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Prince William will join survivors, bereaved parents and members of the community on the anniversary to pay tribute to those who died.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The discovery, detailed in a study published in Science Advances, came from physicist Kostya Trachenko at Queen Mary University of London.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are scheduled to visit Ceuta on Tuesday, on a trip coordinated with the government.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
“The Shadow Queen said she didn’t need us. Only the keys.”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
The revisionist approach of “Six Wives” has traveled beyond a scholarly audience: Portraits of the queens such as those in Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s musical “Six” owe much to Mr. Starkey’s perspective.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
David Starkey’s account of Henry VIII’s reign takes us, day by day, from Greenwich and Westminster to Hampton Court, alongside Henry and his successive queens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
The queens this year will be hoping to spark more interest into the show and drag, including Paris Baby, who describes herself as "UK's British Bajan Barbie".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
“All those drag queens, sometimes I see some of them look more like me than I do,” said the star, who famously lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
This was, indeed, a place where queens were doomed to die.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Rxa8, and White soon to be queened pawn will help deliver checkmates in a couple of moves.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
What! take my money—of all men! go back to the village where once she had queened it over all the girls—like this!
From Norine's Revenge; Sir Noel's Heir by May Agnes Fleming
She queened it over demesnes of sprite-like revelry; the life they led was sylvan; at their fêtes the sun assisted.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 37, November, 1860 by Various
The careless young wife, knowing nothing save how to love, queened it right royally over the old house, and the little brown brothers and sisters ran riot through every room.
From Rodman the Keeper Southern Sketches by Constance Fenimore Woolson
K-Kt2 and draw, as Black has to give up the rook, and the RP cannot be queened, the Black bishop having no power on the White diagonal.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various
Black can’t be stopped from finally queening the charmed a-pawn, and White resigns the final position as mate is in the offing on 79.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 28, 2023
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 resigned because there is no good way to prevent the White e-pawn from queening after his own queen checks run out.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 3, 2021
Bb6!, and now the White a-pawn has a clear path to the queening square.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 10, 2021
Charles was already in St. James's, and the ladies were already queening it in the new Court over the renegade beauties of the old one.
From The Yeoman Adventurer by George W. Gough
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