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
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Though Lambert herself wasn’t present, her voice, her songs, and her inspirations were all over the morning’s festivities, thanks to a trio of Nashville’s favorite drag queens. Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2026 Free There will be live entertainment, DJs, food trucks, drag queens, roaming entertainers (jugglers, stilt walkers), games, kids’ activities and more. Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 5 June 2026 Among the artists featured in the show are Florida photographer Josh Aronson, Celeste Burns, Ricky Cohete, Michael Zimmerer and Juicy Love Dion — an R-House drag queen who competed on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and recently shot a music video inside the church’s sanctuary. Miami Herald, 4 June 2026 Cutoff tanks that pay homage to drag queen icon Naomi Smalls, The Hex Girls, and Girl in Red alike (IYKYK), artful crochet textures, Buffy the Vampire Slayer football jerseys, and so much more. Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 1 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for drag queen

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1941, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of drag queen was circa 1941

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Cite this Entry

“Drag queen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drag%20queen. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.

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