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.

—Laura 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

That spirit of unity also informed the city’s growing acceptance of the LGBTQ community, with the Parliament House Resort becoming a local landmark for its dance-party energy and daring drag queens. —Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 July 2025

Based on a true story, this beloved camp classic follows a struggling shoe factory owner who teams up with a fierce drag queen (her name is Lola) to save the business. —Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025

Transgender people, drag queens, and drag kings participated openly in public life. —Time, 20 June 2025

The entertainer also tells EW her character will definitely bring drag queen looks to Marvel. —EW.com, 16 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1941, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for drag queen

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