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

The Coast Guard and the NYPD were flying drones over the ship to check exterior hull damage Tuesday, the agency said. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 20 May 2025

Russia on Sunday fired a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys targeting Ukraine's Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, according to Ukraine’s air force. —Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2025

Verb

When the relatives begin to arrive, crawling in on their knees, droning a dirge about death, Shula promptly departs for a hotel, pink suitcase in tow. —Namwali Serpell, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2025

Moreover, the war has introduced them to drone warfare. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025