1. [informal] Make a monotonous low dull sound
   "The harmonium was droning on"
    
2. [informal] Talk in a monotonous voice for a long time
   "The professor droned on about the history of ancient Rome";
   - drone on
    
3. Kill remotely using a military drone
   "The military droned several enemy targets"

1. An aircraft without a pilot that is operated by remote control
   "They used drones to survey the damage after the hurricane";
   - pilotless aircraft, radio-controlled aircraft, uncrewed aerial vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV
    
2. Stingless male bee in a colony of social bees (especially honeybees) whose sole function is to mate with the queen
   "The drones were expelled from the hive before winter"
    
3. [informal] An unchanging intonation
   "The professor's drone put half the class to sleep";
   - monotone, droning
    
4. A pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone
   "The drone pipe provided a constant bass note throughout the performance";
   - drone pipe, bourdon
    
5. Someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
   "The drone was always the last to leave the office";
   - dawdler, laggard, lagger, trailer

Derived forms: droned, drones, droning

Type of: bee, bum [N. Amer, informal], cadence, deadbeat [informal], do-nothing [informal], go, heavier-than-air craft, idler, intonation, layabout [informal], loafer, modulation, mouth, pipe, pitch contour, shirker [informal], slacker [informal], sound, speak, talk, utter, verbalise [Brit], verbalize

Part of: bagpipe

Encyclopedia: Drone, Luke