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

What used to be a family-friendly environment is now filled with drag queens, definitive political and ideological statements about sexuality, and mascots decked out in the colors and symbols of that movement. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026

For more than three decades now, the cafe has welcomed LGBTQ+ locals, travelers, and anyone else looking for a warm, welcoming place to have a rollicking good time, whether that means cheering on their favorite drag queen or knocking back drinks with a hot date. — Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 June 2026

While the club is a popular destination and has hosted performances by drag queens that include BenDeLaCreme of RuPaul’s Drag Race, it was built in the mid-2000s. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 16 June 2026

Earlier this year, Patagonia sued a drag queen and environmental activist performing under the name Pattie Gonia in a trademark dispute, and the feud is quickly becoming a PR headache for the eco-friendly apparel brand. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 15 June 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