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drone

1 American  
[drohn] / droʊn /

noun

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

    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 American  
[drohn] / droʊn /

verb (used without object)

droned, droning

  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.

verb (used with object)

droned, droning

  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

"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
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

"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

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

"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
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.

drone Cultural  

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

Other Word Forms

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

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”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These places were never built with the prospect in mind that they would one day come under attack from drones and ballistic missiles.

From BBC

As we write this on Sunday, Iran has fired missiles or drones on Israel, the U.A.E.,

From The Wall Street Journal

Gulf countries’ proximity to Iran means those countries have less time to prepare for incoming drones.

From The Wall Street Journal

They moved to the UAE expecting a non-stop VIP experience, but instead Dubai's influencers found themselves under a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones.

From Barron's

The 57-year-old said several drones and missiles had been shot down but no debris had landed nearby.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.