drones 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of drone
1
as in slugs
a lazy person those drones just lie around while we do all the work

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2
as in laborers
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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drones

2 of 3

noun (2)

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

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drones

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of drone
1
as in buzzes
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 lounges
to spend time doing nothing instead of getting a job, he preferred to drone and live off his parents

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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 drones
Noun
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Ukraine launched at least 637 drones in the direction of the Russian capital from Monday night into Tuesday morning, of which at least 197 were shot down by Russian air defenses over the capital region. — David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 The Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Fire Department assisted Maryland Natural Resources Police in the search, which involved patrol boats, helicopters, drones, and rescue divers. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 The drones also targeted the residence of the head of the protection agency, the statement added. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026 The use of drones for fighting wildfires is a tremendous application of emerging technology. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 The system, developed to protect airbases and other military facilities, cannot currently detect or jam some frequencies used by newer Chinese drones and has limited protection against emerging threats. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 16 Aug. 2026 That often means hundreds of drones must be fired to overwhelm Russian air defenses to allow a missile to get through. — Emma Burrows, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drones
  1. slugs
  2. laborers
  3. hums
  4. buzzes
  5. bums
  6. snails
  7. workers
  8. purrs
Noun
  • Mulch also helps suppress weeds and dissuades strawberry pests like slugs.
    — Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2026
  • If your garden has been beset by destructive crawling insects like ants, beetles, and slugs, pesticides often seem like the clear solution.
    — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of slugs
Noun
  • This was followed by the establishment of regional rural banks starting in 1975, with the aim of lending to financially weaker rural groups, including marginal farmers, agricultural laborers, and small entrepreneurs.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2026
  • My beloved barn jacket dates back to 19th-century France—referred to as a chore coat or bleu de travail—where it was worn among farmers and laborers who relied on its tough, moleskin fabric to get them through fieldwork.
    — Jessica Sulima, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of laborers
Noun
  • The bread machine works on a timer and hums along at its regular pace.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The seventh-floor lobby hums with Adorn Bar and Lounge, coworking tables, and live music Thursday through Sunday.
    — Rima Suqi, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
Definition of hums
Verb
  • There’s always a nervous excitement that buzzes through households in the days leading up to a new school year.
    — Parents, Parents, 10 Aug. 2026
  • While Ramses may continue its operations for a number of months, NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX mission—the name for the extended mission of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which sampled the asteroid Bennu—is set to swoop in after Apophis buzzes Earth.
    — Andrew Jones, Scientific American, 30 July 2026
Definition of buzzes
Verb
  • Critical thinking really bums them out.
    — Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Then Jason and Thor shower together, each lathering the other’s back and bums up with fewer orgasms than an old Herbal Essences commercial.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2026
Definition of bums
Noun
  • At Carter Lake, boat inspection checkpoints are now looking for the snails in addition to other invasive species, such as zebra mussels.
    — Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Insects belong to the kingdom Animalia, along with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, octopuses, snails, jellyfish, worms, and many other groups.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of snails
Noun
  • The early harvest also poses logistical challenges in a region where grapes are traditionally picked by hand, with some workers still on summer vacation and others facing transportation delays.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Cities and smaller communities across the country are competing for remote workers with thousands of dollars in cash, housing assistance, coworking memberships, and other perks designed to make relocating a little easier.
    — Meggen Harris, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of workers
Noun
  • Kimie Smothermon begins each day greeted by the squeals, chirps and purrs of nearly 400 guinea pigs.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of purrs

Browse Nearby Words

droners
drones
droning
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Cite this Entry

“Drones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drones. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of drones for Spanish Speakers

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