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, dron·ing.

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 by on ):

   The meeting droned on for hours.

verb (used with object)

, droned, dron·ing.

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. whenintr, often foll by on 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

/ 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.

drone

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

Derived Forms

• ˈdronish, adjective
• ˈdroning, adjective
• ˈdroningly, adverb

Other Words From

• dron·ish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of drone¹

First recorded before 1000; 1945–50 drone ¹fordef 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 ¹and Middle Dutch drōnen, German dröhnen

Example Sentences

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.

From MIT Technology Review

NASA 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.

From MIT Technology Review

A local whale watching group captured the event with a drone, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

From Voice of San Diego

Facebook wanted to use solar-powered drones and laser-based tech to shoot wifi to antennas.

From Singularity Hub 

Materials 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.

From Science News

The influential al Qaeda propagandist, who was born in New Mexico, died in a U.S. drone strike later that year.

From The Daily Beast

Employees strap a device to their heads and power a helicopter drone with their minds.

From The Daily Beast

But it takes more than just pilots to operate the drone fleet.

From The Daily Beast

In other words, the Air Force is saying that its drone force has been stretched to its limits.

From The Daily Beast

The result is that drone operators are leaving the Air Force in droves.

From The Daily Beast

Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.

From Project Gutenberg

The melody or tune is played on one of the pipes furnished with holes for the purpose, while the other three give a drone, bass.

From Project Gutenberg

Let those who are fit for nothing else go and drone over A B C with ragged children, if they like.

From Project Gutenberg

Not a sound except the drone of a mountain honey-bee hanging over some blossom.

From Project Gutenberg

The buzzer which he had expected to roar in his ears was only a faint drone, and above it he could easily hear other sounds.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• purr
• whirr