drone

¹

[drohn]

noun

1. the male of the honeybee and other bees, stingless and making no honey.

2. 1. an uncrewed military aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond the line of sight.

      We picked up the GPS signal of a U.S. spy drone.

      They used a radio-controlled drone to test the weapon in an isolated spot.

   2. (loosely) any uncrewed airborne device, especially a small one, that is guided remotely: used for industrial, commercial, and recreational purposes, such as photography and filming, delivery, mining, etc..

      The grocery company will test drones for home delivery and pickup.

3. a drudge.

   I don't want to be a drone who mindlessly does exactly what I'm told, but rather someone who asserts a little control in my work.

4. a person who lives on the labor of others; parasitic loafer.

   That lazy drone was asleep when he should have been weeding the garden.

drone

²

[drohn]

verb (used without object)

droned, droning 

1. to make a dull, continued, low, monotonous sound; hum; buzz.

2. to speak in a monotonous tone.

3. to proceed in a dull, monotonous manner (usually followed byon ).

   The meeting droned on for hours.

verb (used with object)

droned, droning 

1. to say in a dull, monotonous tone.

noun

1. Music.

   1. a continuous low tone produced by the bass pipes or bass strings of musical instruments.

   2. the pipes (especially of the bagpipe) or strings producing this tone.

   3. a bagpipe equipped with such pipes.

2. a monotonous low tone; humming or buzzing sound.

3. a person who speaks in a monotonous tone.

drone

¹

/ drəʊn /

noun

1. a male bee in a colony of social bees, whose sole function is to mate with the queen

2. a person who lives off the work of others

3. a pilotless radio-controlled aircraft

drone

²

/ drəʊn /

verb

1. (intr) to make a monotonous low dull sound; buzz or hum

2. to utter (words) in a monotonous tone, esp to talk without stopping

noun

1. a monotonous low dull sound

2. music

   1. a sustained bass note or chord of unvarying pitch accompanying a melody

   2. ( as modifier )

      a drone bass

3. music one of the single-reed pipes in a set of bagpipes, used for accompanying the melody played on the chanter

4. a person who speaks in a low monotonous tone

drone

1. A male bee, especially a honeybee whose only function is to fertilize the queen. Drones have no stingers, do no work, and do not produce honey.

drone

1. In military usage, a pilotless aircraft used for reconnaissance and, more recently, for launching aerial attacks.

Other Word Forms

• dronish adjective
• droner noun
• droningly adverb
• droning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of drone¹

First recorded before 1000; 1945–50 drone ¹ for def. 2a; Middle English drone, drane, Old English dran, dron; akin to Old High German treno, German Drohne

Origin of drone²

First recorded in 1490–1500; from drone ¹; compare Middle English drounen “to boom, roar,” Icelandic drynja “to bellow,” Gothic drunjus “noise”

Word History and Origins

Origin of drone¹

Old English drān; related to Old High German treno drone, Gothic drunjus noise, Greek tenthrēnē wasp; see _drone ²

Origin of drone²

C16: related to _drone ¹ and Middle Dutch drōnen, German dröhnen

Example Sentences

Shooters opened fire from pickup truck beds and atop ladders, used drones to spy on targets and maintained caches of automatic weapons in storage units.

From Los Angeles Times

Footage verified by the BBC shows drones hitting what looks to be a location near a military site, but also an informal market - civilians are not spared.

From BBC

A former detective constable and three people have been convicted of smuggling contraband into prisons using drones.

From BBC

"The decision was very difficult," he told me, sitting in a peaceful park in Dublin – with a soundtrack of birdsong, rather than bullets, drones and explosions.

From BBC

Shortly after reaching that point on Wednesday, GSF said it was on "high alert" and that drone activity was "increasing" above the flotilla.

From BBC

Related Words

• purr 
• whirr www.thesaurus.com