Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
drones - 5 dictionary results
ARCTURUS UAV
 Designer of small UAV systems manufacturer of the T-16 UAV system
 www.arcturus-uav.com
L-3 Sonoma EO
 Provider of high performance EO/IR stabilized ISR & targeting systems
 www.l-3com.com/seo/
Remote Controlled Drone
 Aerial Helicopter Drone with GPS Take High Definition Video & Photos
 www.draganfly.com

drone

1  [drohn]
Use drones in a Sentence
–noun
1. the male of the honeybee and other bees, stingless and making no honey.
2. a remote control mechanism, as a radio-controlled airplane or boat.
3. a person who lives on the labor of others; parasitic loafer.
4. a drudge.
Origin:
bef. 1000; 1945–50 for def. 2; ME drone, drane, OE dran, dron; akin to OHG treno, G Drohne

Related forms:
dronish, adjective
ARCTURUS UAV
 Designer of small UAV systems manufacturer of the T-16 UAV system
 www.arcturus-uav.com
L-3 Sonoma EO
 Provider of high performance EO/IR stabilized ISR & targeting systems
 www.l-3com.com/seo/

drone

2  [drohn] verb, droned, dron⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
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 fol. by on): The meeting droned on for hours.
–verb (used with object)
4. to say in a dull, monotonous tone.
–noun
5. Music.
a. a continuous low tone produced by the bass pipes or bass strings of musical instruments.
b. the pipes (esp. of the bagpipe) or strings producing this tone.
c. a bagpipe equipped with such pipes.
6. a monotonous low tone; humming or buzzing sound.
7. a person who speaks in a monotonous tone.
Origin:
1490–1500; see drone 1 and cf. ME droun to roar, Icel drynja to bellow, Goth drunjus noise

Related forms:
droner, noun
dron⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To drones
drone 1   (drōn)   
n.  
  1. A male bee, especially a honeybee, that is characteristically stingless, performs no work, and produces no honey. Its only function is to mate with the queen bee.
  2. An idle person who lives off others; a loafer.
  3. A person who does tedious or menial work; a drudge: "undervalued drones who labored in obscurity" (Caroline Bates).
  4. A pilotless aircraft operated by remote control.

[Middle English, from Old English drān.]
drone 2   (drōn)   
v.   droned, dron·ing, drones

v.   intr.
  1. To make a continuous low dull humming sound: "Somewhere an electric fan droned without end" (William Styron).
  2. To speak in a monotonous tone: The lecturer droned on for hours.
  3. To pass or act in a monotonous way.
v.   tr.
To utter in a monotonous low tone: "The mosquitoes droned their angry chant" (W. Somerset Maugham).
n.  
  1. A continuous low humming or buzzing sound.
  2. Music
    1. Any of the pipes of a bagpipe that lack finger holes and produce a single tone.
    2. A long sustained tone.
    3. Any of various instruments that produce only a constant pitch.

[From drone1 (from the bee's humming sound).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
drone   (drōn)  Pronunciation Key 
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 © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see drones on Thesaurus | Reference
Remote Controlled Drone
 Aerial Helicopter Drone with GPS Take High Definition Video & Photos
 www.draganfly.com
LowCost UAV Camera Plane
 Hand Launch automatic landing takes digital pictures automatically, $7K
 cropcam.com