drone 1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈdrōn How to pronounce drone (audio)
Definition of dronenext
1
as in slug
a lazy person those drones just lie around while we do all the work

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work after lunch my fellow drones and I shuffle back to our cubicles

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

drone

2 of 3

noun (2)

as in hum
a monotonous sound like that of an insect in motion heard the drone of an airplane overhead

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drone

3 of 3

verb

1
as in to hum
to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound the sound of droning bees all around us

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2
as in to lazy
to spend time doing nothing instead of getting a job, he preferred to drone and live off his parents

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drone
Noun
The purchase reflects a broader effort to improve protection at military bases as unauthorized drone activity becomes more common. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026 The attack, which was confirmed by local Russian officials, provides further evidence of Kyiv's enhanced long-range drone capabilities and comes on the eve of a crunch NATO summit. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 7 July 2026
Verb
The sound of tattoo machines droning at different pitches filled the air at the fifth annual Capitol City Classic tattoo convention, on Saturday afternoon, the second day of its three-day run. — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 14 June 2026 Teak Didgeridoo Didgeridoos are wind instruments originating from Indigenous Australian culture and are typically used for rhythmic, droning sound production. — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 9 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for drone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drone
  1. slug
  2. laborer
  3. hum
  4. buzz
  5. lounge
  6. snail
  7. worker
  8. purr
Noun
  • Calendula Calendula’s fleshy leaves, stems, and flowers also draw slugs and snails away from other crops and can be interplanted in food or flower gardens for natural slug control.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 3 July 2026
  • Dunlap explains that these pungent compounds deter strawberry-loving garden pests like slugs and aphids while also acting as mild fungicides.
    — SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 30 June 2026
Definition of slug
Noun
  • He is accused of not checking work authorizations before hiring laborers, according to the Post.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 26 June 2026
  • Israel soon barred nearly two hundred thousand Palestinian laborers from its workforce.
    — Nirit Peled, New Yorker, 26 June 2026
Definition of laborer
Noun
  • Usually, the town’s namesake island, far down in downstate Illinois, is quiet enough to hear the hum of the barges droning along the Mississippi River.
    — Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
  • The background hum comes from X-ray emissions detected by Chandra.
    — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 4 July 2026
Definition of hum
Verb
  • For the most recent earnings season, these forecasting fruit flies buzzed around modeling 12% earnings growth for the quarter.
    — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
  • As the train approaches Portland, the view shifts again, with bridges, waterways, and buzzing streets.
    — Abby Price, Travel + Leisure, 4 July 2026
Definition of buzz
Verb
  • Featuring adjustable spaghetti straps, two handy pockets, and a pretty floral print, this romper makes an easy and comfortable outfit for beach days, running errands, or just lounging at home.
    — Mia Huelsbeck, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
  • On July 2, Hudson, 47, shared a photo of herself on Instagram lounging by the pool with her 7-year-old daughter Rani Rose Hudson Fujikawa in matching summer outfits during a family vacation in Athens, Greece.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 2 July 2026
Definition of lounge
Noun
  • Calendula Calendula’s fleshy leaves, stems, and flowers also draw slugs and snails away from other crops and can be interplanted in food or flower gardens for natural slug control.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 3 July 2026
  • The game was crawling along at a snail’s pace with a rare boundary here and there.
    — Mohsin Kamal, New York Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of snail
Noun
  • And as many companies continue to prioritize in-person workers for promotions, this gap will likely widen even further over time.
    — Colleen Batchelder, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • But this year, the union, which covers nine bargaining units and represents nearly 100,000 state workers, is not currently scheduled to receive a raise this summer.
    — William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of worker
Noun
  • Wafting odors of 100-octane gasoline and rumbling purrs of V8 engines punched through the overcast morning at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday as the Velocity Invitational car meet entered its second day.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 31 May 2026
  • That detail has led researchers to wonder whether the purr is partly a self-healing mechanism, a body soothing itself from the inside out.
    — Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026
Definition of purr

Browse Nearby Words

drolls
drone
droned
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Cite this Entry

“Drone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drone. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on drone

Nglish: Translation of drone for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about drone

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