drone

1
[ drohn ]
See synonyms for: dronedroneddroning on Thesaurus.com

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

    • 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.

    • (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.

  1. 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.

  2. a person who lives on the labor of others; parasitic loafer: That lazy drone was asleep when he should have been weeding the garden.

Origin of drone

1
First recorded before 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

  • dron·ish, adjective

Words Nearby drone

Other definitions for drone (2 of 2)

drone2
[ 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.

  1. 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.

    • 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.

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

  1. a person who speaks in a monotonous tone.

Origin of drone

2
First recorded in 1490–1500; from drone1; compare Middle English drounen “to boom, roar,” Icelandic drynja “to bellow,” Gothic drunjus “noise”

Other words from drone

  • droner, noun
  • dron·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drone in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drone (1 of 2)

drone1

/ (drəʊn) /


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

  2. British a person who lives off the work of others

  1. a pilotless radio-controlled aircraft

Origin of drone

1
Old English drān; related to Old High German treno drone, Gothic drunjus noise, Greek tenthrēnē wasp; see drone ²

Derived forms of drone

  • dronish, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for drone (2 of 2)

drone2

/ (drəʊn) /


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

  2. (when intr, 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

    • a sustained bass note or chord of unvarying pitch accompanying a melody

    • (as modifier): a drone bass

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

  2. a person who speaks in a low monotonous tone

Origin of drone

2
C16: related to drone 1 and Middle Dutch drōnen, German dröhnen

Derived 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

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.

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.