Word.ws English Dictionary

queen

/kwiːn/

queen noun: the wife, consort, or widow of a king. Also the ellipsis of queen post.

Noun (1)

queen (plural queens)

  1. The wife, consort, or widow of a king.
    • The divorced king was looking for a new queen.
    • The king doth keepe his Reuels here to night. Take heede the Queene come not within his ſight.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]
  2. A female monarch.
    • But our mercifull Queene Elizabeth hath not burned the popiſh prieſtes on the alters where they committed idolatrie in ſaying of Maſſe, and worſhipped a piece of breade for the bodie of Chriſte (which ſhee might haue done if ſhee would) and yet you count not her for a godly and mercifull Queene.1582, Thomas Lupton, The Christian Against the Jesuite, London, retrieved 14 Jan 2022, page 50v
    • In 1952, at the last accession, there were only eight members of the new entity taking shape in the outline of the British Empire. The Queen was the head of state in seven of them, and she was proclaimed Head of the Commonwealth to accommodate India’s lone status as a republic.2017 March 17, Sam Knight, “‘London Bridge Is Down’: The Secret Plan for the Days After the Queen’s Death”, in The Guardian, London, retrieved 16 Jan 2022
  3. The Virgin Mary (especially in formulations such as Queen of Heaven, Queen of Glory).
    • […] and yet I will not ſay but amongſt duſt there is Pearle found, and in hard rockes Dyamonds of great value, and ſo amongſt many women there are ſome good, as that gracious and glorious Queene of all woman kinde the Virgin Mary the mother of al bliſſe, what wun her honour, but an humble minde and...1620, Thomas Tell-Troth [pseudonym of Joseph Swetnam], The Araignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women: Or the Vanitie of Them, Choose You Whether, London, published 1807, retrieved 14...
  4. An excellent woman.
    • Always look after that girl, doc. She's a queen!1915 October, Willa Sibert Cather, chapter XIX, in The Song of the Lark, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], →OCLC, part I (Friends of Childhood), page 149
    Synonyms:
    goddess
  5. A woman pre-eminent in a particular group or field.
    • But now I was the Lord / Of this faire manſion,maſter of my ſeruants, / Queene ore my ſelfe : and euen now,but now.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • Regardless of what one thinks of that Hollywoodish distortion of her life story, it did stimulate an interest in the late Lady Day, though one might speculate as to whether the effect would have been the same had the film starred someone other than Diana Ross, a reigning queen of pop culture.1973 April, Phyl Garland, “Sounds”, in Ebony, volume 28, number 6, Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., retrieved 16 Jan 2022, page 33
    Synonyms:
    goddess
  6. (slang) An attractive woman; a female partner in a romantic relationship.
    • Know you the town is full of folks?
      Know you the shows are full of queens?
      That every mail is full of jokes
      Born of the nation's brightest beans?1914, Franklin P. Adams, By and Large, Garden City, New York: Doulbleday, Page & Company, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 142
    • When I find my queen, we’re having a whole tribe like our grandparents used to swing it back in the day.1999, Camika Spencer, When All Hell Breaks Loose, New York: Villard, →ISBN, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 38
    Synonyms:
    goddess, honey
  7. A girl or woman chosen to preside in an honorary or ceremonial manner over a specified festivity or occasion, as May Queen, Homecoming Queen, prom queen, pearly queen.
    • My mother was queen of the St. Patrick's Day parade when she was 19.
    Synonyms:
    goddess
  8. Something regarded as the greatest of its kind or as having pre-eminence or power comparable to that of a queen over a given area.
    • Thare saw I May, of myrthfull monethis quene.1508, William Dunbar, “The Goldyn Targe”, in William Dunbar, edited by Priscilla Bawcutt, The Poems of William Dunbar, volume 1, Glasgow: Association for Scottish Literary Studies, published 1998...
    • The foregoing eleven chapters of criticism were but preludes to an assertion: of theology as itself a social science, and the queen of the sciences for the inhabitants of the altera civitas, on pilgrimage through this temporary world.2006, John Milbank, Theology and Social Theory, 2nd edition, Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, →ISBN, page 418
  9. A chess piece that, under contemporary rules, is the most powerful, able to move any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
    • For this cauſe that when he [the pawn] can procede so well in warre, as to arriue at the laſte rancke of hys enemies, he is choſen and made the beſt piece of the playe, to wit, he is the Quene.1562, Damiano da Odemira, translated by Iames Rowbothum, The Pleasaunt and Wittie Playe of the Cheasts Renewed, with Instructions Both to Learne It Easely, and to Play It Well, London, page A7v
    • And, further, let us ſuppoſe, that your King is at Liberty to attack his Pawns upon one Side of the Board, by reckoning how many moves it will take your King to march and take thoſe two Pawns, and alſo, by adding the Number of Moves, which will be neceſſary for you to make a Queen with one of your...1761, Edmond Hoyle, An Essay Towards Making the Game of Chess Easily Learned, London, retrieved 13 Jan 2022, page 51
    Synonyms:
    bitch, dame, lady, old lady, whore
  10. A playing card with a depiction of a queen on it, generally ranking next below the king and above the jack in a given suit.
    • There is 5. trumps beside the Queene, yᵉ hindmost yᵘ shalt finde her1575, Gammer Gurton’s Nedle
    • Behold four Kings in majesty rever'd, / With hoary whiskers and a forky beard: / And four fair Queens whose hands sustain a flow'r / Th’ expressive emblem of their softer power; / Four Knaves, in garbs succinct, a trusty band, /Caps on their heads, and halberds in their hand; / And particolour’d...1714, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC, canto III, page 140
  11. A red disk that is the most valuable piece in the Asian game of carom.
    • Imran was good at carrom. Always after the bright red queen, the centre of attention on the board, he tussled to win it first.2014, Shahnaz Bashir, The Half Mother: A Novel, Gurgaon, India: Hachette India, →ISBN
  12. A reproductive female insect in a hive, such as an ant, bee, termite or wasp.
    • Each time a worker shakes the queen, she grasps the queen with her forelegs and shakes her own body for a second or so, delivering 10 to 20 vigorous shakings of the queen […]2010, Thomas D. Seeley, Honeybee Democracy, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 37
    Synonyms:
    king
Show 8 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (obsolete) A type of flatfish, specifically the lemon sole.
  2. (rare) A queen apple.
  3. A queen scallop.
  4. (historical) A type of large roofing slate.
  5. (derogatory, sometimes, LGBTQ slang) A homosexual man, especially one who is effeminate or flaming.
    • […] all of these men are lasciviously dressed in womanly attire, short sleeves, low-necked dresses and the usual ball-room decorations and ornaments of women, feathered and ribboned head-dresses, garters, frills, flowers, ruffles, etc., and deport themselves as women. Standing or seated on a...1893, C. H. Hughes, “Postscript to Paper on ‘Erotopathia’”, in The Alienist and Neurologist, volume 14, retrieved 04 Feb 2022, pages 731–732
    • […] operator Charles Zipf described the "feminine" attire found in Gianelli’s room, reported his description of other "queens," and passed on "Salome's" admission of having had sex with men from the U.S.S. Baltimore.1919, Lawrence R. Murphy, Perverts by Official Order: The Campaign Against Homosexuals by the United States Navy, New York: Harrington Park Press, published 1988, →ISBN, page 57
  6. An adult female cat capable of breeding.
    • A few outdoor houses for the queens are used.1898 August 6, The Ladies’ Field
    • When your queen has returned from the stud it is always advisable to keep her shut up until all restlessness has left her.1906 September, C. S. Sedgwick, “Veterinary Notes”, in Pacific Fancier, volume 4, number 2, Los Angeles, retrieved 19 Jan 2022, page 25
  7. (US, attributive) Pertaining to a queen-size bed or queen-size bedding.
    • Ad Hoc Softwares has bright hand-blocked floral cotton bed linens from India, including flat full/queen sheets, were $85, now $51; standard pillowcases, were $18 each, now $10.80 […]1994 March 21, Leonore Fleischer, “Sales & Bargains”, in New York, volume 27, number 12, →ISSN, page 73
  8. A monarch butterfly (Danaus spp., especially Danaus gilippus).

Verb

queen (third-person singular simple present queens, present participle queening, simple past and past participle queened)

  1. (intransitive, obsolete) To act the part of a queen; to behave imperiously; to queen it.
  2. (transitive) To make a queen or (figuratively) to give the status of a queen.
    • This dreame of mine / Being now awake, Ile Queene it no inch farther, / But milke my Ewes, and weepe.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  3. To promote a pawn to a queen.
    • Neither King will be able to stop the opponent's pawns from queening, when the game should be a draw. In such cases, which side queens first, or queens with check, can make a crucial difference. In this case, White promotes his pawn first and is able to put this advantage to good use.2003, Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Endings, London: Everyman Chess, →ISBN, page 39
  4. To be the queen bee of a colony.
    • They have all been queened by imported stock, or the best of home-bred mothers.1882 November 22, E. L. Briggs, “Development of ‘The Coming Bee’”, in The American Bee Journal, volume 18, number 47, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 743
    • The nucleus should not be queened by a queen from any of the parent colonies.1957, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (India), The Wealth of India, page 263
  5. To provide with a new queen bee.
    • In queening his apiary, he aims to keep about half of the queens of the current season's rearing, and the other of the summer preceding.1896, The Progressive Bee-Keeper, page 320
    • If such a queen is immediately allowed to run through the entrance of a queenless colony, the queening is usually successful.1967, Everett Franklin Phillips, Are Bees Reflex Machines?
    Antonyms:
    dequeen
  6. (slang, transitive, usually) To sit on a person’s face to receive oral sex, typically while straddling the person’s head.
    • The classic posture, in which you lie on your back while the male serves you, may make him feel arrogant and in charge. Try Queening him. Have him lie on his back while you sit on his face (make sure he has an airway through either his mouth or his nose).1996, Lorelei, The Mistress Manual: The Good Girl’s Guide to Female Dominance, Scranton, Pennsylvania: Berkana Press, →ISBN, page 138
    • She saw his pink tongue flickering on Clare's exposed nympha as she queened him, her love juices shining on his chin and throat[…]2012, Yolanda Celbridge, The Castle of Maldona
    Synonyms:
    face-sit, king

Noun (2) capitalized: Queen

Queen (plural Queens)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of queen (“consort or widow of a king”).
  2. Alternative letter-case form of queen (“female monarch”).
  3. A title used before the personal name of a queen.
    • Queen Elizabeth II
    • The reminiscences of Princess Mary Louise, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, vividly evoke this continuity of royal women “performing” masculinity, by a page of illustration showing Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II, mounted on horseback in almost identical uniform, reviewing troops.2007, Clarissa Campbell Orr, “The Feminization of the Monarchy, 1780–1910: Royal Masculinity and Female Empowerment”, in Andrzej Olechnowicz, editor, The Monarchy and the British Nation, 1780 to the...
  4. (World War II era, joint US/RAF) radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter Q.
    Synonyms:
    Quebec

Proper noun capitalized: Queen

Queen

  1. Alternative letter-case form of queen (“Virgin Mary”).
  2. In Commonwealth realms, the personification of the Crown, particularly in legal matters.
    • Her Majesty the Queen v. John Smith, style of cause of a criminal case.
    Synonyms:
    Regina
  3. A surname transferred from the nickname, originating as a nickname.
  4. An unincorporated community in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States, named after the Queen Ranch.
  5. An unincorporated community in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Also used as

queen is also the ellipsis of queen post.

queen is also the ellipsis of queen olive.

queen is also the ellipsis of drag queen.

queen is also the ellipsis of queen-size bed or mattress.

queen meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

queen in Hindi

wife of a king
रानी rānī, मलिका malikā
female monarch
रानी rānī, बेगम begam, मलिका malikā, राणी rāṇī, राज्ञी rājñī, महारानी mahārānī
chess piece
वज़ीर vazīr, मन्त्री mantrī, मंत्री mantrī, फ़रज़ी farzī, रानी rānī, राणी rāṇī
playing card
रानी rānī

queen in Tamil

female monarch
அரசி araci, ராணி rāṇi

queen in Marathi

wife of a king
राणी rāṇī
female monarch
राणी rāṇī
chess piece
वजीर vajīr
playing card
राणी rāṇī

queen in Urdu

powerful or forceful female person
مَہَارَانی mahārānī
wife of a king
رانی rānī
female monarch
مَلِکَہ malika, رانی rānī, مَہَارَانی mahārānī
chess piece
رانی rānī, وَزِیر vazīr, فَرْزی farzī
More languagesFewer languages
queen in Bengali
শাহবানু śahbanu, রাণী rani, মন্ত্রী montri
queen in Telugu
రాణి rāṇi
queen in Malayalam
രാജ്ഞി rājñi, റാണി ṟāṇi
queen in Kannada
ರಾಣಿ rāṇi
queen in Punjabi
ਮਹਾਰਾਣੀ
queen in Gujarati
રાણી rāṇī
queen in Odia
ରାଣୀ rāṇi
queen in Sanskrit
राज्ञी rājñī
queen in Sinhala
අගමෙහෙසිය agamehesiya
queen in Assamese
ৰাণী rani
queen in Nepali
मन्त्री man'tri
queen in Pashto
ملوکه malūka, راڼۍ rāṇə́y
queen in Tagalog
hariginang, reyna, haribini
queen in Arabic
مَلِكَة malika, ملكة malika, وَزِير wazīr, فرزان firzān
queen in Malay
permaisuri, ratu, rani, suri
queen in Indonesian
permaisuri, ratu, rani, homo
queen in Persian
شَهْبانو šahbânu, مَلِکَه malika, مَلِکِه maleke, وَزِیر wazīr
queen in Thai
ราชินี raa-chí-nii, ควีน kwiin, พระราชินี prá raa-chí-nee, เกย์ควีน gee-kwiin
queen in Vietnamese
bà chúa, hoàng hậu, vợ vua, quý phi
queen in Myanmar
ဘုရင်မ bhu.rangma., မိဖုရား mi.hpu.ra:, ကွင်း kwang:, စစ်ကဲ cackai:
Sindhi
راڻي rāṇī
Dhivehi
ރާނޭ rānē

Examples of queen in a sentence

  • Just remember that a nine or ten on the flop may trap you against the early raiser if he’s holding a big pair, or if he catches an ace or king or queen — or even a jack — on a later round.2003, Lou Krieger, Kathleen Keller Watterson, Internet Poker: How to Play and Beat Online Poker Games, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: ConJelCo...
  • But she's a queen, and such are queens that your laughter is sucked in their brains1971, David Bowie, “Queen Bitch”, in Hunky Dory:
  • Despite one's opinion of Sylvia I can attest to the purity of her intent and dedication, and, no one will dare deny she is one gutsy queen.1974 March, Bebe Scarpi, “Intro 2, a Threat to Transvestites?”, in Gay, volume 5, number 112, New York: Four Swords, retrieved 13 Jan 2022...
  • Once you have introduced the queen, the first three steps of the capture have been completed, namely: blocking the tree, providing an alternate home, and queening the colony.1980, Robert E. Donovan, Hunting Wild Bees:

All 40 example sentences with queen

Synonyms of queen

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of queen

Forms of queen

Noun
pluralqueens
pluralQueens
alternative form (obsolete)queene
alternative form (obsolete)quene
alternative form (obsolete)queyne
Verb
third-person singular presentqueens
present participlequeening
past participlequeened
pastqueened

Plural of queen: queens

Origin of queen

From Middle English quene, queen, cwen, from Old English cwēn (“queen”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz (“wife, woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷénh₂s (“woman”). Cognate with Scots queen, wheen (“queen”), Old Saxon quān ("wife"; > Middle Low German quene (“elderly woman”)), Dutch kween (“woman past child-bearing age”), Swedish kvinna (“woman”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk kvinne (“woman”), Danish kvinde (“woman”), Icelandic kvon (“wife”), Gothic 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 (qēns, “wife”), Norwegian dialectal kvån (“wife”). Related to and possibly merged with and/or absorbed some senses of English quean, from Middle English quene, from Old English cwene (“woman; female serf, quean”), see quean. Generally eclipsed non-native Middle English regina (“queen”), borrowed from Latin rēgīna (“queen”) (see Modern English Regina). Doublet of quean and gyne. In reference to insects, by analogy with the obsolete term king, which it took over from starting in the 1600s, when they were discovered to be female.

Words formed from queen

Phrases with queen

106 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with queen

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about queen

What does queen mean?
Queen means the wife, consort, or widow of a king.
What is queen in Hindi?
Queen in Hindi is रानी (rānī), मलिका (malikā), राणी (rāṇī). See Queen meaning in Hindi.
How do you use queen in a sentence?
Just remember that a nine or ten on the flop may trap you against the early raiser if he’s holding a big pair, or if he catches an ace or king or queen — or even a jack — on a later round.
What part of speech is queen?
Queen can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce queen?
Queen is pronounced /kwiːn/.
What is the plural of queen?
The plural of queen is queens.

Words near queen in the dictionary

  1. queefy
  2. queek
  3. queeked
  4. queeking
  5. queeks
  6. queen
  7. Queen Adelaide
  8. queen angelfish
  9. queen angelfishes
  10. Queen Anne
  11. Queen Anne is dead

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: queen (page history and authors); Queen (page history and authors); queen (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-queen.ogg.

Cite this entry: “queen.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/queen. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.