queen

¹ American  

[kween] / kwin /

noun

1. a female sovereign or monarch.

2. the wife or consort of a king.

3. 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.

4. 1. Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to a gay man, especially one who is flamboyantly campy or effeminate.

   2. drag queen.

5. a playing card bearing a picture of a queen.

6. Chess. the most powerful piece of either color, moved across any number of empty squares in any direction.

7. Entomology. a fertile female ant, bee, termite, or wasp.

8. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter Q.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to reign as queen.

2. to behave in an imperious or pretentious manner (usually followed byit ).

3. Chess. to become promoted to a queen.

Queen ² American  

[kween] / kwin /

noun

1. Ellery, joint pen name of Manfred Bennington Lee and Frederick Dannay.

---

queen ¹ British  

/ kwiːn /

noun

1. a female sovereign who is the official ruler or head of state

2. the wife or widow of a king

3. 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

4. slang an effeminate male homosexual

5. 1. 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

   2. ( as modifier )

      a queen bee

6. an adult female cat

7. one of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a queen

8. 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

1. chess to promote (a pawn) to a queen when it reaches the eighth rank

2. (tr) to crown as queen

3. informal (intr) (of a gay man) to flaunt one's homosexuality

4. (intr) to reign as queen

5. informal (often foll by over) to behave in an overbearing manner

Queen ² British  

/ kwiːn /

noun

1. Ellery (ˈɛlərɪ). pseudonym of Frederic Dannay (1905–82) and Manfred B. Lee (1905–71), US co-authors of detective novels featuring a sleuth also called Ellery Queen

---

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

• queenless adjective
• queenlike adjective
• underqueen noun

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”

Example Sentences

Royal guard member Maria DeSilva, left, stands by Anna of Austria, the queen of Spain, and her sister Elisabeth of Austria as they read their Bibles together.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

And “God save the queen!” is exclaimed during the parades and just about any time the queen is around.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Over many decades, the queen in her public appearances maintained a silhouette of practicality over trend, usually a structured jacket and matching hat, along with Anello & Davide calf leather loafers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Now we’re on Vegas World; now we’re on Jurassic Planet; now we’re on a planet ruled by a gigantic queen bee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

In fact, she reminded Jack of nothing less than a queen, even in what looked to be a simple dressing gown.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

Related Words

• monarch
• ruler