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🛸 A pilotless aircraft 😴 A lazy person 🎵 A low hum 🐝 A male bee 🗣️ To speak dully
drone

drone

16 6.8
A male bee whose only job is to mate with the queen
  • noun
  • /droʊn/
translation icon : zángano
  • In a bee colony, the male drone exists solely to mate with the queen.
  • mate with drones
  • drone bee

Examples

  • After connecting with a queen bee, a drone crashes with his equipment ripped away while she flies home to eat jelly.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Nola lay back and listened to the drone of the bees.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The drones service the queen.

    Mr. Holmes (2015)

  • - The queen bee's favorite drone.

    The Brood (1979)

  • Queens from managed colonies are inseminated by as many as 17 drones on their mating flights.

    Academic text (1996)

  • During the spring, the hive's drones play a critical role in reproduction.

  • The beekeeper explained that male drones do not gather nectar or pollen.

Compounds

drone pipe
8.8

A pipe on a bagpipe that makes a steady background low note

alimony drone
  • Slang
9.9

A person who depends on money from an ex and feels trapped

Surface Forms

drone singular
drones plural

Etymology

Drone meaning a male bee comes from old English drān, used for the male bees that do not gather food. So a drone is a bee whose main job is to mate and not to work in the hive.