drag queen

noun

plural drag queens

: a person and especially a man who performs as an entertainer in usually female drag (see drag entry 3 sense 2a)

Drag queens, who are traditionally male, dress in "drag" as female characters.

—Lauren Wavra

For the past decade, (basically since RuPaul started Drag Race) traditional drag queens (ie, cis men performing as female characters) have been blowing up in the popular zeitgeist …

—Brittany Knupper

Drag is not simply female impersonation, but involves drag queens exaggerating femininity and drag kings exaggerating masculinity.

—Shannon Kelly

[Victoria] Sin is a female-bodied non-binary drag queen, examining how Western ideals of femininity are produced and consumed.

—Amrou Al-Kadhi

They are a black, non-binary drag queen with a beard in a part of the country that has a reputation for being anti-LGBTQ+.

—Bailey Shelton

Examples of drag queen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the clip, directed by Gordon Von Steiner, Sivan holds the spotlight at a club filled with drag queens, including Sasha Colby. — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026

That sentence does not even look right on paper, let alone warrant a confusing 60-minute production that builds to a drag queen being shot. — Hannah Brueske, Twin Cities, 11 Aug. 2026

When people were dancing at gay clubs and tipping drag queens in June, that was actually during National LGBTQ+ Pride Month. — Charlotte Observer, 11 Aug. 2026

YouTube page in March featuring a special edition where drag queen Monét X Change, singer Rebecca Black and comedian Brennan Lee Mulligan competed. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 5 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1941, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for drag queen

• acridine
• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene