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

Dolly was colorful and vivacious and unapologetic, and had more than a bit of drag queen in her. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Pierro’s opened in 1972, when Pierro Aversa and Andreas Koutsoukos began fitting drag queens, fishermen, aristocrats, and designers into 540 square feet. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026

Continue reading … PARENTAL RIGHTS ROW — Florida Dem Senate nominee defends taking her kids to drag queen shows. — FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026

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

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