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:
This study instead followed where chemicals ended up throughout the colony and examined their effects on the queen, her ovaries, her eggs, and the wax.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
The family acting dynasty has continued with Dame Emma's daughter Gaia, who posted on Instagram about her grandmother: "Rest well my queen."
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
And Thatcher’s other film roles in 2023’s “The Boogeyman” and a bit part in the following year’s “MaXXXine” certainly don’t help Hollywood’s perception of her as a wannabe scream queen.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
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
She had the look of a queen to her—or not that, he thought: someone to whom a queen would kneel.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
“Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn,” at Hever Castle & Gardens, Kent, through Jan. 2, 2027, is the art-historical equivalent of a country-house mystery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
He alleged that his stepmother, Queen Camilla, leaked stories about him to improve her image.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
On the night of her murder, footage captured him searching for Tania in the city centre, before eventually finding her in Revolucion de Cuba on Queen Street.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
He and Meghan and their two children Archie 7, and Lilibet, 5, did meet privately with Charles and Queen Camilla in July.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Queen Jackson was telling Nila Holcomb, “That boy is just bad news.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Researchers still do not know how long queens can continue transferring contaminants into their eggs, what the long-term consequences may be for the colony, or whether the process differs depending on the pesticide involved.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Since her breakout semi-final performance at the Miami Open last year, Eala has re-ignited interest in tennis in the Philippines, a country obsessed with the three B's - basketball, boxing and beauty queens.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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
They look like regal queens but also like my next-door neighbors.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
Rxa8, and White soon to be queened pawn will help deliver checkmates in a couple of moves.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
There she queened it, with her General as loyal henchman, and Marshall Wace as a professor of drawing-room talents of most varied sort.
From Deadham Hard by Lucas Malet
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
Once I had been sick and queened it over them for a while, now all of us strained ourselves trying to wait on Shelley; but she wouldn't have it.
From Laddie; a true blue story by Gene Stratton-Porter
The men of the company stood idly by, flirting and smoking and provoking giggles and pretty foolish speeches from the girls, who queened it openly on these occasions.
From Where Deep Seas Moan by E. Gallienne Robin
Rxc5 Rxf3, when’s Sorokin’s pieces cover each other magnificently and the passed d-pawn nears the queening square.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 17, 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
Black’s bishop pair and passed queenside pawns make the win more difficult, but Short navigates the tactical shoals to bring home the point while keeping the Black b-pawn from queening.
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
Obviously White has to lose the game, not being able to prevent the pawns from queening.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various
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.
