drone
pronunciation
How to pronounce drone in British English:
UK [drəʊn]
How to pronounce drone in American English:
US [droʊn]
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- Noun:
- stingless male bee in a colony of social bees (especially honeybees) whose sole function is to mate with the queen
- an unchanging intonation
- someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
- an aircraft without a pilot that is operated by remote control
- a pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone
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- Verb:
- make a monotonous low dull sound
- talk in a monotonous voice
Word Origin
- drone (n.)
- Old English dran, dræn "male honeybee," from Proto-Germanic *dran- (cognates: Middle Dutch drane; Old High German treno; German Drohne, which is from Middle Low German drone), probably imitative; given a figurative sense of "idler, lazy worker" (male bees make no honey) 1520s. Meaning "pilotless aircraft" is from 1946. Drones, as the radio-controlled craft are called, have many potentialities, civilian and military. Some day huge mother ships may guide fleets of long-distance, cargo-carrying airplanes across continents and oceans. Long-range drones armed with atomic bombs could be flown by accompanying mother ships to their targets and in for perfect hits. ["Popular Science," November, 1946] Meaning "deep, continuous humming sound" is early 16c., apparently imitative (compare threnody). The verb in the sound sense is early 16c.; it often is the characteristic sound of airplane engines. Related: Droned; droning.
Example
- 1. America sent another drone into pakistan , reportedly killing 12 people .
- 2. Nearly 60 u.s. drone strikes have been reported in pakistan this year .
- 3. But local witnesses say they have also sighted american drone aircraft or cruise missiles .
- 4. Officials said militants never took control of a drone or interfered with its flight .
- 5. The third drone attack within a week , the strikes have killed a total of 18 suspected militants .