/ drəʊn; NAmE droʊn/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ usually sing. ] a continuous low noise :
the distant drone of traffic
2.
[ usually sing. ] a continuous low sound made by some musical instruments, for example the bagpipes , over which other notes are played or sung; the part of the instrument that makes this noise
3.
a male bee that does not work
—compare queen bee , worker
4.
a person who is lazy and gives nothing to society while others work
5.
an aircraft without a pilot, controlled from the ground
■ verb
[ v ] to make a continuous low noise :
A plane was droning in the distance.
a droning voice
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PHRASAL VERBS
- drone on (about sth)
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English drān , drǣn male bee , from a West Germanic verb meaning resound, boom; related to Dutch dreunen to drone, German dröhnen to roar, and Swedish dröna to drowse.