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.Laura 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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The show features five drag queens, each performing two of Swift's eras. Bryan West, The Tennessean, 9 July 2025 There are few in Spain who know more about the race’s humble beginnings than the drag queen known as Chumina Power. CNN Money, 5 July 2025 Enjoy a vendor market, DJ music and drag queen performances, swag bag and unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 More Shannon Finney/Getty Images/Kevin Carter/Getty Images What People Are Saying Some social media users were critical of the drag queens' attendance and defensive over Trump. Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025 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 2 Aug. 2025.

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