drone
1 of 3noun (1)
ˈdrōn 
plural drones
1
: a stingless male bee (as of the honeybee) that has the role of mating with the queen and does not gather nectar or pollen
2
: one that lives on the labors of others : parasite
3
: an uncrewed aircraft or ship guided by remote control or onboard computers
4
a
: drudge sense 1
b
: drudge sense 2
one of many office drones
drone
2 of 3verb
droned; droning
intransitive verb
1
a
: to make a sustained deep murmuring, humming, or buzzing sound
droning bees
The air conditioner droned.
b
: to talk in a persistently dull or monotonous tone
droning on and on about his health
2
: to pass, proceed, or act in a dull, drowsy, or indifferent manner
The afternoon droned on.
transitive verb
1
: to utter or pronounce with a drone
2
: to pass or spend in dull or monotonous activity or in idleness
droning the years away
droner noun
droningly
ˈdrō-niŋ-lē
adverb drone
3 of 3noun (2)
1
: a deep sustained or monotonous sound : hum
the drone of the motor
2
music : an instrument or part of an instrument (such as one of the fixed-pitch pipes of a bagpipe) that sounds a continuous unvarying tone
3
music : pedal point
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- couch potato
- deadbeat
- do-nothing
- idler
- layabout
- lazybones
- loafer
- lotus-eater
- slouch
- slug
- slugabed
- sluggard
Verb
- bumble
- burr
- buzz
- hum
- whir
- whirr
- whish
- whiz
- whizz
- zip
- zoom
Noun (2)
- burr
- buzz
- chirr
- churr
- hum
- purr
- thrum
- whir
- whirr
- whiz
- whizz
- zoom
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb We could hear wasps droning in the garden. the sound of droning bees all around us
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1), Verb, and Noun (2)
Middle English, from Old English drān; akin to Old High German treno drone, Greek thrēnos dirge
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
circa 1520, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun (2)
1502, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Phrases Containing drone
Kids Definition
drone 1 of 3
noun
ˈdrōn
: a male bee
drone
2 of 3verb
droned; droning
: to make or to speak with a low dull tone or hum
The speaker droned on and on.
drone
3 of 3noun
: a low dull tone or hum
drones 1 of 3
noun (1)
1
as in snails
a lazy person those drones just lie around while we do all the work Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- snails
- slugs
- loafers
- sluggards
- deadbeats
- couch potatoes
- layabouts
- idlers
- slugabeds
- slouches
- crawlers
- lotus-eaters
- delayers
- bums
- creepers
- lazybones
- lingerers
- stragglers
- putterers
- lollers
- shirkers
- saunterers
- slowpokes
- dawdlers
- goldbricks
- loiterers
- laggards
- dalliers
- clock-watchers
- do-nothings
- stick-in-the-muds
- good-for-nothings
- slackers
- ne'er-do-wells
- procrastinators
- malingerers
- dropouts
- loungers
- quitters
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- hummers
- hustlers
- doers
- achievers
- comers
- live wires
- highfliers
- highflyers
- powerhouses
- go-getters
- self-starters
- go-aheads
2
as in laborers
a person who does very hard or dull work after lunch my fellow drones and I shuffle back to our cubicles Synonyms & Similar Words
- laborers
- workers
- slaves
- peons
- grubs
- grunts
- peones
- sloggers
- foot soldiers
- grubbers
- drudgers
- pluggers
- toilers
- drudges
- dogsbodies
- serfs
- workhorses
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- shirkers
- slugs
- loafers
- idlers
- sluggards
- goldbricks
- slouches
- lazybones
drones
2 of 3noun (2)
as in hums
a monotonous sound like that of an insect in motion heard the drone of an airplane overhead Synonyms & Similar Words
- hums
- buzzes
- whispers
- purrs
- zooms
- thrums
- rustles
- whirs
- burrs
- whirrs
- chirrs
- whizzes
- murmurs
- sighs
- coos
- moans
- churrs
- babbles
- gurgles
- zings
- susurrations
- gasps
- susurruses
- hisses
- zips
- suspirations
- whishes
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- screams
- shrieks
- screeches
- squalls
- squeals
- howls
- yells
- yelps
- roars
- bawls
drones
3 of 3verb
1
as in buzzes
to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound the sound of droning bees all around us Synonyms & Similar Words
- buzzes
- hums
- zips
- zooms
- whirs
- whispers
- burrs
- whirrs
- whizzes
- whistles
- bumbles
- thrums
- coos
- chirrs
- churrs
- hisses
- whishes
- murmurs
- sighs
- currs
- wheezes
- purrs
- fizzes
- rustles
- whooshes
- swishes
- sizzles
2
as in lounges
to spend time doing nothing instead of getting a job, he preferred to drone and live off his parents Synonyms & Similar Words
- lounges
- veges out
- lazes
- lazies
- bums
- monkeys
- dillydallies
- plays
- chills
- loafs
- vegges out
- strolls
- pokes
- footles
- kills time
- kicks back
- rests
- hangs about
- twiddles one's thumbs
- dawdles
- fools
- lolls
- idles
- dallies
- trifles
- messes
- relaxes
- estivates
- loiters
- mucks
- kicks around
- swans
- dozes
- hacks (around)
- goofs (off)
- piddles
- lingers
- lags
- hibernates
- truants
- goldbricks
- saunters
- hangs (around or out)
- malingers
- potters (around)
- furloughs
- aestivates
- ambles
- tarries
- moseys
- fiddles (around)
- putters (around)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- slaves
- plows
- grubs
- plugs
- works
- labors
- pegs
- toils
- plods
- grinds
- humps
- hustles
- applies
- sweats
- buckles (down)
- drudges
- travails
- moils
- exerts
- puts out