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:
Once a fixture of the 1960s pop and minimalist scenes in New York, Japan's "polka dot queen" found huge commercial success in her later decades.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
"I felt that was very relatable as a drag queen and so I took that book up there to testify," Bandit told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Dolly was colorful and vivacious and unapologetic, and had more than a bit of drag queen in her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Shortly after that, Parton became one of America’s most cherished stars and the queen of holiday specials long before Mariah Carey laid claim to Christmas.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
“You pathetic little mortals!” the fairy queen snarled from her much-too-wide mouth, her voice deeper now.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Harry's grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, stripped them of their "Royal Highness" titles, police protection and public funding when they quit as working monarchy members in 2020.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
And in early 2026 she released a new charity version of the song, external, in aid of pediatric cancer research, featuring her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, Lainey Wilson, Queen Latifah and Reba.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The species, Acanthosaura syrax, takes its name from Syrax, the dragon ridden by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
Prince Philip died in April 2021 and long-reigning Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022 at age 96.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
“It was when I felt the freest—when I still felt like a kid, before I was ever told that I’d be trained to be a Queen Mother.”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“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
With a fanbase that included grandmas and Gen-Zers, Republicans and Democrats, drag queens and evangelicals, Parton was a kind of unicorn in America's polarised society.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Honeybee queens can produce 1,500 to 2,000 eggs every day, supplying colonies with the workers needed to keep the hive functioning.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 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
“Before those new queens emerge, the old queen flies off with some of the workers to form a second hive.”
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
When Stävoren town was in its prime And queened the Zuyder Zee, Its ships went out to every clime With costly merchantry.
From The Red Flower Poems Written in War Time by Henry Van Dyke
Restored to society and Harley, Anne queened it royally.
From Historical Mysteries by Andrew Lang
After M. Radisson had quieted turbulent spirits by a reading of holy lessons, Mistress Hortense queened it over our table of a Sunday at noon.
From Heralds of Empire Being the Story of One Ramsay Stanhope, Lieutenant to Pierre Radisson in the Northern Fur Trade by Agnes C. (Agnes Christina) Laut
The one, in the richness of her splendour, gazed upon the close place where she queened it, and was satisfied with the beauty round her, or, if not satisfied, she could imagine none different.
From Dawn by Henry Rider Haggard
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
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
Bb6!, and now the White a-pawn has a clear path to the queening square.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 10, 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
Theresa was like an autocratic sovereign, queening it over these menials and fancying herself adored.
From The Second Generation by David Graham Phillips
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.
