drone
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a small aircraft without a pilot that is controlled from the ground.
n.an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or ship that can navigate autonomously or be guided remotely.
Simple“The photographer used a drone to get a beautiful view of the wedding from above.”
In context“Military commanders deployed several high-altitude drones to monitor the border without risking the lives of reconnaissance pilots.”
SynonymsUAVunmanned aircraft - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a low, continuous humming or buzzing noise.
n.a continuous low-pitched humming or buzzing sound, often mechanical or vocal in origin.
Simple“The constant drone of the air conditioner made it hard to sleep.”
In context“The distant drone of traffic from the motorway provided a constant acoustic backdrop to life in the suburban village.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.a male bee that does not work and whose only job is to mate with the queen.
n.a male honeybee or other social insect that is stingless and performs no work in the hive.
Simple“In the winter, the worker bees often push the drones out of the hive to save food.”
In context“The primary biological function of the drone is to fertilize a receptive queen during her nuptial flight.”
Antonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
n.a person who does boring or repetitive work for someone else.
n.a person who performs menial or tedious tasks, often perceived as lacking individuality or agency.
Simple“He felt like just another office drone, staring at spreadsheets all day.”
In context“The corporate culture was criticized for treating junior analysts as mindless drones rather than valued contributors.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to talk for a long time in a very boring, flat voice.
v.to speak in a monotonous, tedious, and repetitive tone.
Simple“The teacher droned on about history until half the class was asleep.”
In context“The guest speaker droned on for nearly an hour, failing to notice that the audience had grown restless and disinterested.”
Usageoften used with 'on' or 'on and on'
- 06 B2 Upper Intermediate
Usage drones strike · drone attacks · drone strikes
From Middle English drane, from Old English drān, from Proto-West Germanic drānu, from Proto-Germanic drēniz, drēnuz, drenô (“an insect, drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n- (“bee, drone, hornet”). Cognate with Danish drone (“drone”), Dutch dar (“male bee or wasp”), German Drohne, dialectal German Dräne, Trehne, Trene (“drone”), Low German drone (“drone”), Swedish drönje, drönare (“drone”). The etymology of the sense of "remote-controlled aircraft" is disputed; theories include early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths.
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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.