noun
queen
kween
noun
1
A female monarch who rules a country, or the wife of a king.
"The queen addressed the nation on Christmas Day."
"She was crowned queen at the age of twenty-five."
2
In chess, the most powerful piece, able to move any number of squares in any direction.
"He sacrificed his queen to set up checkmate."
"Losing your queen early is usually a serious setback."
3
The single fertile female in a colony of bees, ants, or similar social insects.
"The hive can have only one queen at a time."
"Worker bees feed and protect the queen."
verb
1
In chess, to promote a pawn to a queen by reaching the far side of the board.
"His pawn queened on the final move of the game."
"She pushed the pawn forward, hoping to queen it."
How to Use Queen
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA female ruler, a powerful chess piece, or the egg-laying female of a bee or ant colony.
Common pairings
crown a queen
queen bee
queen and king
Word Forms
queened past tense, queens singular
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The _____ addressed the nation on Christmas Day.
Etymology
From Old English cwen, "queen, wife," from a Germanic root meaning "woman."