drone

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drone¹

(drōn)

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 remotely controlled or autonomous aircraft with no pilot on board. Also called unmanned aircraft system.

[Middle English, from Old English drān. Sense 4, originally 1930s US naval jargon introduced by Commander (later Rear Admiral) Delmer Fahrney (1898-1984), in reference to the fact that such pilotless aircraft, at first used for target practice, were controlled by an operator on the ground or in a mother ship or aircraft, likened to a queen bee.]

drone²

(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).

1. A continuous low humming or buzzing sound.

2. Music

a. Any of the pipes of a bagpipe that lack finger holes and produce a single tone.

b. A long sustained tone.

c. Any of various instruments that produce only a constant pitch.

[From drone (from the bee's humming sound).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

drone

(drəʊn)

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

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

3. (Aeronautics) a pilotless radio-controlled aircraft

[Old English drān; related to Old High German treno drone, Gothic drunjus noise, Greek tenthrēnē wasp; see drone²]

ˈdronish adj

drone

(drəʊn)

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

3. a monotonous low dull sound

4. (Music, other) music

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

b. (as modifier): a drone bass.

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

6. a person who speaks in a low monotonous tone

[C16: related to drone¹ and Middle Dutch drōnen, German dröhnen]

ˈdroning adj

ˈdroningly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

drone¹

(droʊn)

n.

1. the male of the honeybee and other bees that is stingless and makes no honey.

2. a craft operated by remote control, esp. a pilotless airplane guided by radio signals.

3. a person who lives on the labor of others; parasitic loafer.

4. a drudge.

[before 1000; Middle English drone, drane, Old English dran, dron]

dron′ish, adj.

drone²

(droʊn)

v. droned, dron•ing,
n. v.i.

1. to make a continued, low, monotonous sound; hum; buzz.

2. to speak in a monotonous tone.

3. to proceed in a dull, monotonous manner (usu. fol. by on).

v.t.

4. to say in a dull, monotonous tone.

a. a musical instrument or one of its parts producing a continuous low tone, esp. a bagpipe.

b. pedal point.

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

[1490–1500; see drone¹ and compare Middle English droun to roar, Icelandic drynja to bellow, Gothic drunjus noise]

dron′er, n.

dron′ing•ly, adv.

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® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

drone

A land, sea, or air vehicle that is remotely or automatically controlled. See also remotely piloted vehicle; unmanned aerial vehicle.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

drone

Past participle: droned
Gerund: droning

Imperative
drone
drone

Present
I drone
you drone
he/she/it drones
we drone
you drone
they drone

Preterite
I droned
you droned
he/she/it droned
we droned
you droned
they droned

Present Continuous
I am droning
you are droning
he/she/it is droning
we are droning
you are droning
they are droning

Present Perfect
I have droned
you have droned
he/she/it has droned
we have droned
you have droned
they have droned

Past Continuous
I was droning
you were droning
he/she/it was droning
we were droning
you were droning
they were droning

Past Perfect
I had droned
you had droned
he/she/it had droned
we had droned
you had droned
they had droned

Future
I will drone
you will drone
he/she/it will drone
we will drone
you will drone
they will drone

Future Perfect
I will have droned
you will have droned
he/she/it will have droned
we will have droned
you will have droned
they will have droned

Future Continuous
I will be droning
you will be droning
he/she/it will be droning
we will be droning
you will be droning
they will be droning

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been droning
you have been droning
he/she/it has been droning
we have been droning
you have been droning
they have been droning

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been droning
you will have been droning
he/she/it will have been droning
we will have been droning
you will have been droning
they will have been droning

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been droning
you had been droning
he/she/it had been droning
we had been droning
you had been droning
they had been droning

Conditional
I would drone
you would drone
he/she/it would drone
we would drone
you would drone
they would drone

Past Conditional
I would have droned
you would have droned
he/she/it would have droned
we would have droned
you would have droned
they would have droned

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	drone - stingless male bee in a colony of social bees (especially honeybees) whose sole function is to mate with the queen bee - any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
	2.	drone - an unchanging intonation droning, monotone intonation, pitch contour, modulation - rise and fall of the voice pitch
	3.	drone - someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind dawdler, laggard, lagger, trailer, poke do-nothing, idler, layabout, loafer, bum - person who does no work; "a lazy bum" lingerer, loiterer - someone who lingers aimlessly in or about a place slowcoach, slowpoke, stick-in-the-mud, plodder - someone who moves slowly; "in England they call a slowpoke a slowcoach" potterer, putterer - a person who putters about straggler, strayer - someone who strays or falls behind
	4.	drone - an aircraft without a pilot that is operated by remote control pilotless aircraft, radio-controlled aircraft heavier-than-air craft - a non-buoyant aircraft that requires a source of power to hold it aloft and to propel it
	5.	drone - a pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone bourdon, drone pipe bagpipe - a tubular wind instrument; the player blows air into a bag and squeezes it out through the drone pipe - a tubular wind instrument
Verb	1.	drone - make a monotonous low dull sound; "The harmonium was droning on" sound, go - make a certain noise or sound; "She went `Mmmmm'"; "The gun went `bang'"
	2.	drone - talk in a monotonous voice drone on mouth, speak, talk, verbalise, verbalize, utter - express in speech; "She talks a lot of nonsense"; "This depressed patient does not verbalize"

drone

noun parasite, skiver (Brit. slang), idler, lounger, piker (Austral. & N.Z. slang), leech, loafer, couch potato (slang), scrounger (informal), sponger (informal), sluggard, bludger (Austral. & N.Z. informal) A few are dim-witted drones, but most are talented.

drone

verb

1. hum, buzz, vibrate, purr, whirr, thrum An invisible plane drones through the night sky.

noun

1. hum, buzz, purr, vibration, whirr, whirring, thrum the constant drone of the motorway

drone on speak monotonously, drawl, chant, spout, intone, talk interminably Her voice droned on.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

drone¹

noun

A self-indulgent person who spends time avoiding work or other useful activity:

bum, fainéant, good-for-nothing, idler, layabout, loafer, ne'er-do-well, no-good, slugabed, sluggard, wastrel.

Informal: do-little, do-nothing, lazybones, slug.

Slang: slouch.

drone²

verb

To make a continuous low-pitched droning sound:

bumble, burr, buzz, hum, whir, whiz.

noun

A continuous low-pitched droning sound:

bumble, burr, buzz, hum, whir, whiz.

Translations

ذَكَر النَّحِلشَخْص كَسولطَنينيَتَكَلَّمُ بِصَوْتٍ مُمِليَطِنُّ

бръмчатъртей

trubecvrčethučeníhučetlenoch

brummedagdriverdronesummen

Brummen Drohne Nichtstuer Biene

κηφήνας

zángano zumbido

huminakuhnurilennokkisurinatyöläinen

bourdonnement bourdonner drone fainéant faux-bourdon

döngésherehere méhmonoton hangon elmondsemmittevõ

susurro

drunur; suîkarlbÿflugaletingi, iîjuleysingisuîa; drynjatala tilbreytingarlaust

ronzare fuco parlare con tono monotono rimbombare ronzio

bambėtigaustimonotoniškai kalbėtitranas

dūkoņadūkšanadūktliekēdismonotoni runāt

bourdondardrone

brumme brumming døgenikt drone hannbie

brzęczeniesamolot bezzałogowy

zangão zumbido zumbir

trântor

трутень жужжание

trúd

trot

drönare

asalakerkek arımonoton bir sesle konuşmaktembel kimseuğuldamak

发出嗡嗡声懒汉深沉的嗡嗡声用单调沉闷的声音说话雄蜂

drone

[drəʊn]

A. N

1. (= male bee) → zángano m

2. (= noise) [of bees, engine] → zumbido m; [of voice] → tono m monótono

3. (= sponger) → parásito/a m/f

B. VI [bee, engine, aircraft] → zumbar; [voice, person] (also drone on) → hablar monótonamente
he droned on and on → hablaba y hablaba en tono monótono

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

drone

[ˈdrəʊn]

[bee] → bourdonner

[engine] → ronronner

(also drone on) [person] → parler d'une voix monocorde

(= noise) [insect] → bourdonnement m; [plane, traffic] → ronronnement m

(= male bee) → faux-bourdon m

drone

(= bee, fig) → Drohne f

(= sound, of bees) → Summen nt; (of engine, aircraft) → Brummen nt

(= monotonous way of speaking) → monotone Stimme

(Mus, = bass voice part) → Bass m; (of bagpipes) → Brummer m; (sound) → Bordun(ton) m

(Aviat, = robot plane) → ferngesteuertes Flugzeug

(bee) → summen; (engine, aircraft) → brummen

(= speak monotonously: also drone away or on) → eintönig sprechen; (in reciting) → leiern; he droned on and on for hours → er redete stundenlang in seinem monotonen Tonfall; we had to listen to him droning on about politics → wir mussten seinem monotonen Geschwafel über Politik zuhören (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

drone

[drəʊn]

1. n

a. (male bee) → fuco, pecchione m

b. (noise, of bees, aircraft) → ronzio; (of voices) → brusio

2. vi (bee, engine, aircraft) → ronzare; (person) (also drone on) → continuare a parlare (in modo monotono); (voice) → continuare a ronzare

drone

(drəun) noun

1. the male of the bee.

2. a person who is lazy and idle.

3. a deep, humming sound. the distant drone of traffic.

verb

1. to make a low, humming sound. An aeroplane droned overhead.

2. to speak in a dull, boring voice. The lecturer droned on and on.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

The young bee held it out in silence--unmistakably a drone leg incapable of packing pollen.

Another, an eyeless drone with no feelers, said that all brood-cells should be perfect circles, so as not to interfere with the grub or the workers.

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May we not say that this is the drone in the house who is like the drone in the honeycomb, and that the one is the plague of the city as the other is of the hive?

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His ears were filled with the incessant hum in various notes, now the busy hum of the working bee flying quickly off, then the blaring of the lazy drone, and the excited buzz of the bees on guard protecting their property from the enemy and preparing to sting.

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'Don't be afraid,' she said, 'it's only a drone. Drones have no stings.'

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All the men of this party were fishing for rubles, decorations, and promotions, and in this pursuit watched only the weathercock of imperial favor, and directly they noticed it turning in any direction, this whole drone population of the army began blowing hard that way, so that it was all the harder for the Emperor to turn it elsewhere.

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Boarham by name, Bore'em, as I prefer spelling it, for a terrible bore he was: I shudder still at the remembrance of his voice - drone, drone, drone, in my ear - while he sat beside me, prosing away by the half-hour together, and beguiling himself with the notion that he was improving my mind by useful information, or impressing his dogmas upon me and reforming my errors of judgment, or perhaps that he was talking down to my level, and amusing me with entertaining discourse.

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That the usurer is the drone, that Virgil speaketh of;

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From the blank darkness outside came in, through the aperture that served for a window, all the ever unfamiliar noises of night in the wilderness--the long nameless note of a distant coyote; the stilly pulsing thrill of tireless insects in trees; strange cries of night birds, so different from those of the birds of day; the drone of great blundering beetles, and all that mysterious chorus of small sounds that seem always to have been but half heard when they have suddenly ceased, as if conscious of an indiscretion.

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"Your Sir William was a drone to Sir Paul, and knew nothing of regularity.

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Two tables further on, a palmer, with his pilgrim's costume complete, was practising the lament of the Holy Queen, not forgetting the drone and the nasal drawl.

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He must say he thought a drone the embodiment of a pleasanter and wiser idea.

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