Word.ws English Dictionary

Queen's English

Syllables: Queen's Engl·ish/kwiːnz‿ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/US/kwinz‿ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/

Queen's English noun: often preceded by the: spoken or written English regarded as used and safeguarded by the Queen of England; standard English characterized by correct grammar and what is thought of as proper usage of words and expressions, and (when spoken) formal British pronunciation.

Noun (1)

Queen's English (uncountable)

  1. (England) Often preceded by the: spoken or written English regarded as used and safeguarded by the Queen of England; standard English characterized by correct grammar and what is thought of as proper usage of words and expressions, and (when spoken) formal British pronunciation.
    • But I am not so timid, and can speak the Queen's English plainly.1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts”, in New Arabian Nights
    • Picking up the different points of land was often the source of a joke, for our master was not blessed with the most perfect command of the Queen's English, and I overheard one morning the following nautical dialogue: "Look out, ahoy!" - speaking to the man in the foretop.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 33

Noun (2) capitalized: queen's English

queen's English (uncountable)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Queen's English.

Examples of Queen's English in a sentence

  • He murdered the Queen's English every time he spoke.1913, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 22, in The Double Life Of Mr. Alfred Burton:
  • Both are well-spoken and versed in the Queen's English. [this was possibly written before Queen Elizabeth II died]2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 52:

Forms of Queen's English

alternative formqueen's English

Origin of Queen's English

From Queen + -’s + English, possibly modelled after King’s English which is attested slightly earlier.

Words that rhyme with Queen's English

Questions about Queen's English

What does Queen's English mean?
Queen's English means often preceded by the: spoken or written English regarded as used and safeguarded by the Queen of England; standard English characterized by correct grammar and what is thought of as proper usage of words and expressions, and (when spoken) formal British pronunciation.
How do you use Queen's English in a sentence?
He murdered the Queen's English every time he spoke.
What part of speech is Queen's English?
Queen's English is a noun.
How do you pronounce Queen's English?
Queen's English is pronounced /kwiːnz‿ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/ (UK).

Words near Queen's English in the dictionary

  1. Queen's County
  2. Queen's cowboy
  3. Queen's cowboys
  4. queen's cup
  5. queen's delight
  6. Queen's English
  7. Queen's Gambit
  8. Queen's Gambit Accepted
  9. Queen's Gambit Declined
  10. Queen's hard bargain
  11. Queen's hard bargains

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Queen's English (page history and authors); queen's English (page history and authors). 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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Queen's English.wav.

Cite this entry: “Queen's English.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/queen%27s_english. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.