queen bee

noun

1. a fertile female bee.

2. a woman who is in a favored or preeminent position.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of queen bee¹

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

The four Ghostbusters, for instance, bring distinct skills and backgrounds to the table, while the witches in “The Craft” each embody a different archetype of teenage girlhood, from outcast to queen bee.

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He said swarming typically occurred when a surplus queen bee leaves a hive with part of the colony to set up a new one somewhere else.

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He said it threatened to disrupt the movement of queen bees, which lay all the eggs in the business's honey-producing hives - of which there are more than 125.

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That doesn’t earn him additional respect from Tedesco or the other queen bees, who instead wonder what the Catholic church is doing in Afghanistan.

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The four Ghostbusters, for instance, bring distinct skills and backgrounds to the table, while the witches in "The Craft" each embody a different archetype of teenage girlhood, from outcast to queen bee.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• female 
• girl 
• woman