drone
1the male of the honeybee and other bees, stingless and making no honey.
an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond line of sight: the GPS of a U.S. spy drone.
(loosely) any unmanned aircraft or ship that is guided remotely: a radio-controlled drone.
a person who lives on the labor of others; parasitic loafer.
a drudge.
Origin of drone
1Other words from drone
- dronish, adjective
Words Nearby drone
Other definitions for drone (2 of 2)
to proceed in a dull, monotonous manner (usually followed by on): The meeting droned on for hours.
to say in a dull, monotonous tone.
Music.
a continuous low tone produced by the bass pipes or bass strings of musical instruments.
the pipes (especially of the bagpipe) or strings producing this tone.
a bagpipe equipped with such pipes.
a monotonous low tone; humming or buzzing sound.
a person who speaks in a monotonous tone.
Origin of drone
2Other words from drone
- droner, noun
- dron·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use drone in a sentence
It even began showing off some of its other products, such as a covid-19 tracking system called Fleming, and Eclipse, which can hack drones deemed a security threat.
Inside NSO, Israel’s billion-dollar spyware giant | Tate Ryan-Mosley | August 19, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewNASA is planning a new mission for 2026 called Dragonfly, in which a rotorcraft drone is to fly around Titan and study the moon’s potential hospitability to life in greater detail.
The 5 best places to explore in the solar system—besides Mars | Neel Patel | August 17, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewA local whale watching group captured the event with a drone, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Environment Report: Why Your Water Bill Might Spike | MacKenzie Elmer | July 27, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoFacebook wanted to use solar-powered drones and laser-based tech to shoot wifi to antennas.
Google Loon Is Now Beaming WiFi Down to Earth From Giant Balloons | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | July 12, 2020 | Singularity HubMaterials chemist Eijiro Miyako of the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Nomi imagines outsourcing pollination to automatous drones that deliver pollen grains to individual flowers.
Bubble-blowing drones may one day aid artificial pollination | Maria Temming | June 22, 2020 | Science News
The influential al Qaeda propagandist, who was born in New Mexico, died in a U.S. drone strike later that year.
Employees strap a device to their heads and power a helicopter drone with their minds.
But it takes more than just pilots to operate the drone fleet.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says | Dave Majumdar | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIn other words, the Air Force is saying that its drone force has been stretched to its limits.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says | Dave Majumdar | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe result is that drone operators are leaving the Air Force in droves.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says | Dave Majumdar | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTdrone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan SwiftThe melody or tune is played on one of the pipes furnished with holes for the purpose, while the other three give a drone, bass.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing MillerLet those who are fit for nothing else go and drone over A B C with ragged children, if they like.
The Daisy Chain | Charlotte YongeNot a sound except the drone of a mountain honey-bee hanging over some blossom.
God Wills It! | William Stearns DavisThe buzzer which he had expected to roar in his ears was only a faint drone, and above it he could easily hear other sounds.
Star Born | Andre Norton
British Dictionary definitions for drone (1 of 2)
/ (drəʊn) /
a male bee in a colony of social bees, whose sole function is to mate with the queen
British a person who lives off the work of others
a pilotless radio-controlled aircraft
Origin of drone
1Derived forms of drone
- dronish, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for drone (2 of 2)
/ (drəʊn) /
(intr) to make a monotonous low dull sound; buzz or hum
(when intr, often foll by on) to utter (words) in a monotonous tone, esp to talk without stopping
a monotonous low dull sound
music
a sustained bass note or chord of unvarying pitch accompanying a melody
(as modifier): a drone bass
music one of the single-reed pipes in a set of bagpipes, used for accompanying the melody played on the chanter
a person who speaks in a low monotonous tone
Origin of drone
2Derived forms of drone
- droning, adjective
- droningly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for drone
[ drōn ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for drone
In military usage, a pilotless aircraft used for reconnaissance and, more recently, for launching aerial attacks.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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