drone.
A male hymenopteran (ant, bee, hornet, or wasp), whose sole primary function is to mate with the queen.
Meaning & usage
A male hymenopteran (ant, bee, hornet, or wasp), whose sole primary function is to mate with the queen.
One who does not work; a lazy person, an idler.
One who performs menial or tedious work.
Any remotely operated or autonomous vehicle for land, sea, air, or space.
aerial drones
sea drones
Any remotely operated or autonomous vehicle for land, sea, air, or space. An aircraft operated by remote control, especially an uncrewed/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Several images of the compound were obtained via a drone overflight.
One team member launched a camera drone over the Third Pole.
Any remotely operated or autonomous vehicle for land, sea, air, or space. Any remotely operated or autonomous underwater vehicle, especially when multiple such vehicles are operated from a larger vessel.
Any remotely operated or autonomous vehicle for land, sea, air, or space. Any watercraft on the water's surface that is remotely operated or autonomous.
Any remotely operated or autonomous vehicle for land, sea, air, or space. Any UGV (uncrewed ground vehicle).
A Toyota HiAce or a similar van, especially one used by Ugandan state agents to kidnap opposition members.
One who lacks the ability to think critically and independently, especially one who follows a group blindly; a non-player character.
In dronification kink, one who is mindless and obedient to a dominant, characterized by a detached and robotic identity and an anonymous appearance, typically composed of a latex suit and gas mask.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English drane, dron, drone, from Old English drān, drǣn, from Proto-West Germanic *drānu, from Proto-Germanic *drenô, *drēnuz (“drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n- (“bee, drone, hornet”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Droane (“drone”), Dutch dar (“drone”), German Drohne (“drone”), Limburgish dreen, Droon (“drone”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk drone (“drone”), Swedish drönare (“drone”); also Belarusian тру́цень (trúcjenʹ, “drone”), Bulgarian търтей (tărtej, “drone”), Czech trubec (“drone”), Macedonian трут (trut, “drone”), Polish trąd, trut, truteń (“drone”), Russian and Ukrainian тру́тень (trútenʹ, “drone”), Serbo-Croatian тру̑т, trȗt (“drone”), Slovak trúd (“drone”), Slovene trot (“drone”). The etymology of the sense of "remote-controlled aircraft" is disputed; theories include early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths.
To kill or destroy with a drone (unmanned aircraft), or with a missile fired by a drone.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English drane, dron, drone, from Old English drān, drǣn, from Proto-West Germanic *drānu, from Proto-Germanic *drenô, *drēnuz (“drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n- (“bee, drone, hornet”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Droane (“drone”), Dutch dar (“drone”), German Drohne (“drone”), Limburgish dreen, Droon (“drone”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk drone (“drone”), Swedish drönare (“drone”); also Belarusian тру́цень (trúcjenʹ, “drone”), Bulgarian търтей (tărtej, “drone”), Czech trubec (“drone”), Macedonian трут (trut, “drone”), Polish trąd, trut, truteń (“drone”), Russian and Ukrainian тру́тень (trútenʹ, “drone”), Serbo-Croatian тру̑т, trȗt (“drone”), Slovak trúd (“drone”), Slovene trot (“drone”). The etymology of the sense of "remote-controlled aircraft" is disputed; theories include early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths.
To produce a low-pitched hum or buzz.
To speak in a monotone.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English drounen (“to roar, bellow”), from Proto-West Germanic *drunnjan, from Proto-Germanic *drunjaną (“to drone, roar, make a sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“to roar, hum, drone”). Cognate with Scots drune (“to drone, moan, complain”), Dutch dreunen (“to drone, boom, thud”), Low German drönen (“to drone, buzz, hum”), German dröhnen (“to roar, boom, rumble”), Danish drøne (“to roar, boom, peel out”), Swedish dröna (“to low, bellow, roar”), Icelandic drynja (“to roar”).
A low-pitched hum or buzz.
One of the fixed-pitch pipes on a bagpipe.
A genre of music that uses repeated lengthy droning sounds.
A humming or deep murmuring sound.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English drounen (“to roar, bellow”), from Proto-West Germanic *drunnjan, from Proto-Germanic *drunjaną (“to drone, roar, make a sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“to roar, hum, drone”). Cognate with Scots drune (“to drone, moan, complain”), Dutch dreunen (“to drone, boom, thud”), Low German drönen (“to drone, buzz, hum”), German dröhnen (“to roar, boom, rumble”), Danish drøne (“to roar, boom, peel out”), Swedish dröna (“to low, bellow, roar”), Icelandic drynja (“to roar”).
The drug mephedrone.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.