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queen bee

See more synonyms for queen bee on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a fertile female bee.
  2. a woman who is in a favored or preeminent position.
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Origin of queen bee

First recorded in 1600–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for queen bee

Historical Examples

  • The Queen-Bee is the only perfect female in the hive, and all the eggs are laid by her.

    Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee

    L. L. Langstroth

  • Actually you are the queen-bee; with all your swarm about you.'

    The Heroine

    Eaton Stannard Barrett

  • I formerly related how the amputation of these affects the queen-bee.

  • "The queen-bee and the workers again," said she, as Jack closed the book.

    Hope Mills

    Amanda M. Douglas

  • She is the queen-bee of this country hive; and I—I am a harmless enough drone.

    The Book of Susan

    Lee Wilson Dodd

British Dictionary definitions for queen bee

queen bee

noun
  1. the fertile female bee in a hive
  2. informal a woman in a position of dominance or ascendancy over her peers or associates
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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