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   drone

   /drəʊn/

   verb

   • 1. make a continuous low humming sound: "in the far distance a machine droned" Similar humbuzzwhirvibratemurmurrumblepurrhisswhispersigh
   • ▪ speak tediously in a dull monotonous tone: "he reached for another beer while Jim droned on" Similar speak boringlyspeak monotonouslygo on and ontalk interminablyintonepontificateinformal:spoutsound offjawspielspeechifypreachify
   • ▪ move with a continuous humming sound: "traffic droned up and down the street"

   noun

   • 1. a continuous low humming sound: "he nodded off to the drone of the car engine" Similar humbuzzwhirwhirringvibrationmurmurmurmuringpurrpurringhisshissingwhisperwhisperingsigh
   • ▪ a monotonous speech: informal "only twenty minutes of the hour-long drone had passed"
   • 2. a continuous musical note of low pitch: "the drone rose by a third to A"
   • ▪ a musical instrument, or part of one, sounding a continuous note of low pitch, in particular (also drone pipe) a pipe in a bagpipe or (also drone string) a string in an instrument such as a hurdy-gurdy or a sitar.
   • 3. a male bee in a colony of social bees, which does no work but can fertilize a queen.
   • ▪ a person who does no useful work and lives off others: "the University takes all the profit and redistributes it to drones like him" Similar hanger-onparasiteleechpassengeridlerloaferlayaboutloungergood-for-nothingdo-nothingsluggardlaggardinformal:lazybonesscroungerspongerfreeloaderbloodsuckerwasterslackerskivercadger
   • 4. a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft or small flying device: "pilots use remote controls to guide a stealth reconnaissance drone"
   • ▪ a remote-controlled or autonomous vehicle designed for use underwater or on land: "a drone was sent to explore the depths"

   Word Origin Old Englishdrān, 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’.

   Scrabble Points: 6

   • D

     2

   • R

     1

   • O

     1

   • N

     1

   • E

     1

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