Synonyms of drone

drone 1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈdrōn 

1

as in slug

a lazy person

those drones just lie around while we do all the work

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slug
• snail
• bum
• loafer
• couch potato
• idler
• slouch
• deadbeat
• sluggard
• do-nothing
• layabout
• lotus-eater
• crawler
• lazybones
• slugabed
• creeper
• delayer
• good-for-nothing
• straggler
• lingerer
• laggard
• loiterer
• saunterer
• shirker
• dawdler
• slowpoke
• putterer
• slacker
• goldbrick
• loller
• clock-watcher
• stick-in-the-mud
• dropout
• ne'er-do-well
• lounger
• malingerer
• dallier
• procrastinator
• quitter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hummer
• doer
• hustler
• go-ahead
• self-starter
• comer
• achiever
• powerhouse
• live wire
• go-getter
• highflyer
• highflier

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• laborer
• worker
• slave
• peon
• foot soldier
• grunt
• toiler
• grubber
• plugger
• grub
• drudge
• drudger
• slogger
• dogsbody
• serf
• workhorse

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shirker
• slug
• idler
• loafer
• slouch
• sluggard
• goldbrick
• lazybones

drone

2 of 4

noun (2)

as in hum

a monotonous sound like that of an insect in motion

heard the drone of an airplane overhead

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hum
• purr
• buzz
• whisper
• whirr
• rustle
• thrum
• zoom
• whir
• burr
• sigh
• chirr
• whizz
• whiz
• murmur
• churr
• moan
• babble
• gurgle
• gasp
• hiss
• coo
• susurrus
• susurration
• zip
• suspiration
• zing
• whish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• roar
• scream
• screech
• shriek
• squall
• yell
• howl
• squeal
• yelp
• bawl

drone

3 of 4

verb (1)

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hum
• buzz
• zip
• whirr
• burr
• whizz
• whir
• whisper
• zoom
• whiz
• whistle
• bumble
• hiss
• whish
• thrum
• purr
• chirr
• coo
• sigh
• churr
• murmur
• fizz
• rustle
• wheeze
• swish
• whoosh
• curr
• sizzle

2

as in to lazy

to spend time doing nothing

instead of getting a job, he preferred to drone and live off his parents

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lazy
• lounge
• chill
• veg out
• idle
• bum
• rest
• hack (around)
• goof (off)
• kill time
• loaf
• play
• kick back
• stroll
• poke
• relax
• hang about
• dillydally
• hang (around or out)
• muck
• laze
• footle
• dawdle
• loll
• kick around
• twiddle one's thumbs
• mess
• monkey
• estivate
• trifle
• fool
• potter (around)
• fiddle (around)
• swan
• loiter
• linger
• hibernate
• lag
• piddle
• dally
• doze
• putter (around)
• aestivate
• saunter
• amble
• truant
• mosey
• malinger
• furlough
• goldbrick
• tarry

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slave
• work
• labor
• plow
• grind
• toil
• plug
• hustle
• sweat
• plod
• apply
• buckle (down)
• grub
• drudge
• peg
• hump
• put out
• travail
• exert
• moil

droning

4 of 4

verb (2)

present participle of drone

1

as in humming

to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound

the sound of droning bees all around us

Synonyms & Similar Words

• humming
• buzzing
• zipping
• whirring
• whispering
• hissing
• whizzing
• burring
• sighing
• whistling
• murmuring
• zooming
• bumbling
• thrumming
• whishing
• purring
• chirring
• cooing
• churring
• wheezing
• rustling
• swishing
• fizzing
• curring
• whooshing
• sizzling

2

as in idling

to spend time doing nothing

instead of getting a job, he preferred to drone and live off his parents

Synonyms & Similar Words

• idling
• chilling
• lounging
• playing
• dawdling
• loafing
• resting
• lolling
• poking
• bumming
• relaxing
• lazing
• strolling
• dillydallying
• footling
• lingering
• mucking
• lazying
• hanging (around or out)
• messing
• hacking (around)
• vegging out
• goofing (off)
• dallying
• killing time
• kicking back
• hanging about
• dozing
• monkeying
• piddling
• twiddling one's thumbs
• fooling
• kicking around
• ambling
• sauntering
• trifling
• hibernating
• loitering
• estivating
• fiddling (around)
• lagging
• puttering (around)
• pottering (around)
• aestivating
• swanning
• moseying
• tarrying
• malingering
• goldbricking
• truanting
• furloughing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• grinding
• plodding
• laboring
• working
• plowing
• toiling
• sweating
• plugging
• hustling
• slaving
• grubbing
• humping
• pegging
• drudging
• applying
• buckling (down)
• moiling
• travailing
• exerting
• putting out

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of drone

Noun

Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more. —Alexander Cox, Space.com, 18 July 2025

Models for Solano Foundry include China’s massive industrial complexes that churn out advanced products such as drones and electric vehicles, Lieber said. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 18 July 2025

Verb

There’s no sound more evocative of summer than that of an old-school ice cream maker’s motor droning its monotonous naaaaaaaa with the backbeat of gas station ice and rock salt grinding and shifting against the spinning ice cream cannister. —Josh Miller, Southern Living, 31 May 2025

The earbuds are adept at reducing noise below about 100Hz, which is excellent for lower-frequency droning sounds. —PC Magazine, 28 Apr. 2025