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drag queen

American  
[drag kween] / ˈdræg ˌkwin /

noun

Slang.

  1. a performer, typically one who was assigned male at birth, whose act involves a stylized and exaggerated interpretation of femininity that plays with stereotypical gender themes.

drag queen British  

noun

  1. a male who dresses as a woman and impersonates female characteristics for public entertainment

  2. slang a male transvestite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
drag queen Idioms  

  1. A male transvestite; also, a female impersonator. For example, He was surprised to find out that Roxanne was actually a drag queen. This term uses the slang noun drag in the sense of “female attire worn by a man” (a usage dating from about 1870; also see in drag). [Offensive slang; c. 1940]

Etymology

Origin of drag queen

First recorded in 1960–65; drag (in the sense “wearing clothes characteristic with a different sex”) + queen (in the sense “flamboyantly effeminate gay man”)

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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.

“The way that conservatives were talking about it, I thought it was going to be drag queen story hour. At one point we were the Trolls,” Fuentes said on his show Tuesday.

From Salon • Feb. 11, 2026

Trixie Mattel, the adored drag queen DJ, perhaps said it best during her set at Saturday’s installment of the “Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things” tour.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2025

In a recent episode, she spoke about fellow drag queen Xunami Muse’s decision to self-deport and shared that a close family member had also self-deported to Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

Joining him in the iconic 'Werk Room' is west Belfast drag queen Elle Vosque, marking the first series to feature more than one contestant from the island of Ireland.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

But as it happened, Lexie and Trip were so involved in a spirited argument over which guest had better hair, the drag queen or his embittered ex-wife, that no one heard the commercials.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

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.