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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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”

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.

Example Sentences

Harmon started in the entertainment business as a child model and pageant queen and worked her way up through appearances on comedy and quiz shows.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

The Egyptian queen Thutmose III was buried with gold sandals and protective gold toe caps.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

At that ceremony, Janelle Monae introduced her as the queen of Black Girl Magic, and rightly so.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 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

“In Mariposa, the king and the queen made sure everybody got what they needed,” Natalie said, “and everybody was happy.”

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Related Words

• monarch
• ruler