drone
1[ drohn ]
/ droʊn /
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noun
the 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.
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Origin of drone
1before 1000; 1945–50 for def. 2a; Middle English drone, drane,Old English dran, dron; akin to Old High German treno,German Drohne
OTHER WORDS FROM drone
dronish, adjectiveOther definitions for drone (2 of 2)
drone2
[ drohn ]
/ droʊn /
verb (used without object), droned, dron·ing.
to make a dull, continued, low, monotonous sound; hum; buzz.
to speak in a monotonous tone.
to proceed in a dull, monotonous manner (usually followed by on): The meeting droned on for hours.
verb (used with object), droned, dron·ing.
to say in a dull, monotonous tone.
noun
Origin of drone
21490–1500; see drone1 and compare Middle English droun to roar, Icelandic drynja to bellow, Gothic drunjus noise
OTHER WORDS FROM drone
droner, noundron·ing·ly, adverbDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use drone in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for drone (1 of 2)
drone1
/ (drəʊn) /
noun
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
Derived forms of drone
dronish, adjectiveWord Origin for drone
Old English drān; related to Old High German treno drone, Gothic drunjus noise, Greek tenthrēnē wasp; see drone ²
British Dictionary definitions for drone (2 of 2)
drone2
/ (drəʊn) /
verb
(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
noun
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
Derived forms of drone
droning, adjectivedroningly, adverbWord Origin for drone
C16: related to drone 1 and Middle Dutch drōnen, German dröhnen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Scientific definitions for drone
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
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.