queen

play

noun \ˈkwēn\

Definition of queen

1a : the wife or widow of a kingb : the wife or widow of a tribal chief
2a : a female monarchb : a female chieftain
3a : a woman eminent in rank, power, or attractions a movie queenb : a goddess or a thing personified as female and having supremacy in a specified realmc : an attractive girl or woman; especially : a beauty contest winner
4 : the most privileged piece of each color in a set of chessmen having the power to move in any direction across any number of unoccupied squares
5 : a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a queen
6 : the fertile fully developed female of social bees, ants, and termites whose function is to lay eggs
7 : a mature female cat kept especially for breeding
8 slang, often disparaging : a male homosexual; especially : an effeminate one

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See queen defined for kids

Examples of queen in a Sentence

She was crowned queen of England.
the reign of Queen Elizabeth
the king and his queen
the queen of the blues
She was voted queen of the prom.
This ship is the queen of all the ocean liners.

Recent Examples of queen from the Web

And then there's a forthcoming new album with his band The Good, The Band & The Queen that features the Clash's Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen.

— dan hyman, chicagotribune.com, "Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn won't sit still", 5 July 2017
Kings, queens and governments from around the world contributed bulbs, plants and statuary representing their country's culture, such as a Chinese bridge, and woodcarvings from Norway.

— joan dittmann, Post-Tribune, "Native American heritage on display in Michigan City", 5 July 2017
Leanne is running out of money to pay for her dream of making her 11-year-old daughter, Patty (Ursula Parker), a pageant queen.

— rick bentley, kansascity, "‘Austin Found’ gets at the dark side of the desire for fame", 5 July 2017
Shawl: Tru Blue silk queen kimono, $242, Planet Blue.

— star-telegram, "Dress for the Fest: Festival fads include bold accessories, bright colors, floral patterns", 5 July 2017
Imagine one person tells you that his ideal form of government would be to get rid of the Constitution and make Kim Kardashian queen.

— jonah goldberg, National Review, "When Would You Stop Loving America?", 5 July 2017
For instance, here was Senator Joe Manchin III, a Democrat facing re-election next year in a state that President Trump won by 42 points, waving unheckled among the firefighters, beauty queens and county commissioners who streamed up Maple Avenue.

— campbell robertson, dave philipps, jess bidgood and emily cochrane, New York Times, "Senate Republicans Lay Low on the Fourth, or Face Single-Minded Pressure", 4 July 2017
Warrior queens such as Yaa Asantewaa are buried beneath Western misogyny.

— solomon jones, Philly.com, "Older black people have let younger generation down", 4 July 2017
My knight could jump everywhere and his queen was stuck.

— michael ciamarra, AL.com, "Alabama teen becomes US Chess Master, fast chess prize winners, half time top pick", 2 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'queen'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of queen

Middle English quene, from Old English cwēn woman, wife, queen; akin to Goth qens wife, Greek gynē woman, Sanskrit jani

Other Foreign Functionary Terms

count, despot, emir, wardrobe, yeoman

queen

verb

Definition of queen

intransitive verb
1 : to act like a queen; especially : to put on airs —usually used with it queens it over her friends
2 : to become a queen in chess the pawn queens
transitive verb
: to promote (a pawn) to a queen in chess

1611

First Known Use of queen

1611

QUEEN Defined for Kids

queen

play

noun \ˈkwēn\

Definition of queen for Students

1 : a woman who rules a country or kingdom
2 : the wife or widow of a king
3 : a woman or girl who is highly respected or well-known within a field the queen of the blues
4 : the most powerful piece in the game of chess
5 : a playing card bearing the figure of a queen
6 : a fully developed adult female insect (as a bee, ant, or termite) that lays eggs