drone

¹ American  

[drohn] / droʊn /

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.

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drone ² American  

[drohn] / droʊn /

verb (used without object)

• drones,
  present (3rd person singular)
• droned,
  past participle,  past
• droning
  present participle

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.

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verb (used with object)

• drones,
  present (3rd person singular)
• droned,
  past participle,  past
• droning
  present participle

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 British  

/ 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

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drone ² British  

/ 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

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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 Scientific  

/ drōn /

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.

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drone Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• droning
  present
• droned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• drone
  simple
• drones
  simple
• have droned
  perfect
• has droned
  perfect
• am droning
  progressive
• are droning
  progressive
• is droning
  progressive
• have been droning
  perfect progressive
• has been droning
  perfect progressive

Past

• droned
  simple
• had droned
  perfect
• was droning
  progressive
• were droning
  progressive
• had been droning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will drone
  simple
• will have droned
  perfect
• will be droning
  progressive
• will have been droning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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”

Explanation

To drone is to make a low, continuous noise that sounds like humming or buzzing. On summer nights, you might hear cicadas drone, and on snowy winter mornings, hear your neighbor's snow blower drone. Like animals and machines, people drone too, their voices sounding dull and tedious: "When my history teacher drones on, it's hard to stay awake." Drone is also a noun, meaning the monotonous sound itself, like the drone of a boring lecture; or a male worker bee; or a person who's as unambitious as a worker bee. Finally, there are the drones that fly by remote control, doing surveillance, gathering weather information, and occasionally firing missiles for the military.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drone drones droned droning

People have been warned not to fly drones in the area because they will interfere with the military helicopter, and a fire service drone.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

In 2024, the Atlantic Council think tank estimated that China controlled 90% of the U.S. drone market and 80% of the global market.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

A drone flying toward the Lithuanian capital Vilnius the following day prompted air-raid alerts in the city.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

German authorities last week found an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig airport, while operations at Hanover airport were disrupted after a drone entered restricted airspace, officials told AFP on Tuesday.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Indian classical music is usually accompanied by a tanpura, which plays a drone background.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

People have been warned not to fly drones in the area because they will interfere with the military helicopter, and a fire service drone.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

In a statement, the Trump administration called drones a “key technology in modern armed conflict.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

It described the move as a precautionary measure aimed at ensuring the safety of bystanders and the operational capabilities of authorities to counter potential drones.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Western military officials also warn that Russia is systematically using its own drones to probe Europe’s air defenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Maybe this was what a new queen felt like before she launched herself into the air, the drones closing fast.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

At one event, in which Oz was interviewed by Dean Cain, an actor who played Superman in a 1990s television show, about 50 people listened in as Oz droned on about an anti-fraud task force.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

“Now bring it up to your heartspace, connecting to your heart,” she continued, as ambient music droned in the background.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2025

Maher droned, becoming what feels like the 587th famous performer to mourn their inability to see Louis C.K. smirk at them on a network show.

From Salon ● May 16, 2024

That excitement was not evident inside the grand ballroom at the JW Marriott in Houston Sunday, as Harbaugh droned on about nature documentaries he shows his team on the day of a game.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2024

High-flying bombers droned above, a steady two-way stream moving into and returning from their target.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Whatever engine droning and snoozing you might remember from earlier CVT systems has been banished to the Phantom Zone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

The little wagon retains the flat-four’s characteristic droning when it revs out, as when merging with highway traffic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

The summer’s unpleasant cicada infestation, meanwhile, is a stark reminder that his preferred droning screech comes from his dot-matrix printer, spitting out keyboard-symbol drawings he makes for customers who send him cash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026

But by the time the dialogue-free, centerpiece underwater sequence brims with Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey’s droning score, popcorn shuffling stopped.

From Salon ● May 24, 2025

Yeah, I know, I'm droning on and on.

From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Related Words

• purr
• whirr