Definition

1. Noun:

   • A stingless male bee: In a colony of social bees (especially honeybees), a drone's sole function is to mate with the queen.
   • A continuous low humming sound: An unchanging, monotonous sound, like that of an engine or a bee.
   • A person who is idle or lazy: Someone who lives off the work of others or lags behind.
   • A remote-controlled pilotless aircraft: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
   • A pipe on a bagpipe: A pipe that produces a single continuous note, providing a harmonic background.

2. Verb:

   • To make a continuous low dull sound: To emit a monotonous hum or buzz.
   • To speak in a monotonous tone: To talk in a dull, unchanging voice without variation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The drone of the bees filled the garden. (The continuous humming sound of the bees.)
  • He was criticized for being a drone in the office. (A lazy person who does not contribute.)
  • The military uses a drone for surveillance. (An unmanned aircraft.)
  • The bagpiper adjusted the drone. (The pipe that produces the continuous note.)

• Verb:

  • The old fan droned in the corner all night. (Made a continuous low sound.)
  • The lecturer droned on for hours, putting everyone to sleep. (Spoke in a monotonous voice.)

Advanced Usage

• "To drone on (and on)": To talk for a long time in a boring, monotonous way.
  • He droned on about his tax problems.
• "Drone strike": A military attack carried out by an unmanned aircraft.
  • The news reported a drone strike in the region.

Variants and Related Words

• Droning (adj/n): Describing a continuous, monotonous sound; the act of making such a sound.
  • We fell asleep to the droning noise of the engine.
• Drone footage (n): Video captured by an unmanned aerial vehicle.
  • The documentary featured stunning drone footage of the canyon.

Synonyms

• Noun (sound): Hum, buzz, murmur.
• Noun (person): Loafer, idler, sluggard.
• Noun (aircraft): UAV, unmanned aerial vehicle.
• Verb (sound): Hum, buzz, purr.
• Verb (speak): Monotone, intone.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Drone on: To continue talking in a dull, monotonous manner.
  • I wish he wouldn't drone on about the same topic.

Related Idioms

• To live the life of a drone: To live an idle, unproductive life.
  • After retiring, he feared he would just live the life of a drone.

Noun

1. a pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone
2. an aircraft without a pilot that is operated by remote control
3. someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
4. an unchanging intonation
5. stingless male bee in a colony of social bees (especially honeybees) whose sole function is to mate with the queen

Verb

1. talk in a monotonous voice
2. make a monotonous low dull sound
   • The harmonium was droning on