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• Cleopatra
  Cleopatra

  noun

  69–30 b.c., queen of Egypt 51–49, 48–30.
• cleopatra
  cleopatra

  noun

  a yellow butterfly, Gonepteryx cleopatra, the male of which has its wings flushed with orange

Cleopatra

American  

[klee-uh-pa-truh, -pah-, -pay-] / ˌkli əˈpæ trə, -ˈpɑ-, -ˈpeɪ- /

noun

1. 69–30 b.c., queen of Egypt 51–49, 48–30.

2. a female given name: from Greek words meaning “fame” and “father.”

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cleopatra ¹ British  

/ ˌkliːəˈpætrə, -ˈpɑː- /

noun

1. a yellow butterfly, Gonepteryx cleopatra, the male of which has its wings flushed with orange

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Cleopatra ² British  

/ ˌkliːəˈpætrə, -ˈpɑː- /

noun

1. ?69–30 _bc , queen of Egypt (51–30), renowned for her beauty: the mistress of Julius Caesar and later of Mark Antony. She killed herself with an asp to avoid capture by Octavian (Augustus)

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Cleopatra Cultural  

1. A queen of Egypt (see also Egypt) in the first century b.c., famous for her beauty, charm, and luxurious living. She lived for some time in Rome with Julius Caesar. For several years after Caesar was assassinated, she lived in Egypt with the Roman politician Mark Antony. Antony killed himself on hearing a false report that she was dead. After Antony's death, Cleopatra committed suicide by allowing an asp, a poisonous snake, to bite her.

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Discover More

The play Antony and Cleopatra, by William Shakespeare, dramatizes Cleopatra's affair with Antony and her suicide.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Cleopatra cleopatra

He oversees the rapid construction of a powerful naval force and confronts the combined fleets of Antony and Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

“Israel borders Egypt, and I grew up with so many stories about Cleopatra, and she’s like a household name,” she told the Hong Kong version of the fashion publication.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026

Marsh also had roles in Hollywood films including Cleopatra, Willow and Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy and on TV in Doctor Who.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2025

Born Roberta Cleopatra Flack on Feb. 10, 1937, in tiny Black Mountain, N.C., she was the daughter of Laron LeRoy, a draftsman who played piano, and Irene Flack, a church choir organist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2025

“You know,” Shay said, “I read that the real Cleopatra wasn’t even that great-looking. She seduced everyone with how clever she was.”

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

The cleopatra gene can kill flies when it interacts with another gene, asp.

From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2012

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