Definition of "drone"
drone1
noun
plural drones
(now rare) Someone who does not work; a lazy person, an idler.
Quotations
SHYLOCK:The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder,Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by dayMore than the wild-cat; drones hive not with me;Therefore I part with him; and part with himTo one what I would have him help to wasteHis borrowed purse. […]
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene v]
(metonymically): An aircraft operated by remote control, especially an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Quotations
An atomic tested Flying Fortress will make a nonstop flight from Florida, and from the time the first engine kicks over until the last propeller stops spinning at Bolling, no hands will touch the controls. A radio controlled drone, it will make the journey with its mother ship, another Fortress, as part of the Experimental Guided Missiles Group contribution to the demonstration.
1948 September, “Air Force Day”, in U.S. Air Services, page 6
The United Nations is setting up a unit to investigate American drone strikes and other targeted killings of terrorist suspects, Ben Emmerson, the United Nations special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, said Thursday.
2012 October 25, Scott Shane, “Drone Strikes to Be Investigated”, in New York Times
A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone.
2012 December 1, “An internet of airborne things”, in The Economist, volume 405, number 8813, page 3 (Technology Quarterly)
In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6
(chiefly military) Any remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), such as a tank or boat, especially when multiple such vehicles are operated from a larger vessel.
Quotations
Firefish, a drone boat, is the second radio-controlled target used by the detachment. A 17-foot fiber glass craft, it weighs 1700 pounds and operates from the support ship by remote control at a range of up to five miles using tracking radar.
1968 July, “Long-Distance Crews”, in All Hands, number 618, page 27
"Libya obtained a remote controlled explosive boat system consisting of 30-knot drone boats packed with high explosives controlled from a cabin cruiser type craft," Butts told the seapower and strategic and critical materials subcomittee.
1984 March 1, UPI, “Libya owns drone boats, Navy says”, in Eugene Register-Guard, page 2
(Uganda) A Toyota HiAce or a similar van, especially one used by Ugandan state agents to kidnap opposition members.
Quotations
The van is locally referred to as "a drone" because it is compact and stable under extreme conditions. It is also very fast. Technically though, it is a Toyota Hiace, which is usually used for commercial purposes.
2021 February 4, Alex Mugasha, “Why Uganda's security agencies have fallen in love with the "Drone" van”, in Nile Post
He has been arrested several times, transported in drone vans and brutalized in various detention facilities.
2021 February 4, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, “Horror inside a kidnap drone”, in The Observer
The Toyota Hiace is a light commercial van that can be used as a minibus, a taxi, or even an ambulance. But in Uganda, the "drone" has a sinister reputation. Chris Atukwasize, a cartoonist at the Daily Monitor newspaper, dubbed it the #WheelsOfSteal and rendered it as a skull: brake lights dripping blood, its front grille a row of teeth, and hands plastered behind its tinted back windows, pleading for help.
2021 March 3, Liam Taylor, “They came in plainclothes with guns: 'Abducted' by Uganda's army”, in Al Jazeera
Earlier this week, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa summoned the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja together with the Ministers of Security and Internal Affairs and parliamentary whips to address the said return of drones on the streets.
2022 October 2, Sam Waswa, “UPDF Probes Drone Raid at Journalist's Home”, in Chimp Reports
(chiefly Internet slang, derogatory) A person without the ability to think critically and independently, especially one who follows a group blindly; a non-player character.
Quotations
The billionaire-friendly media drones and frenziedmulticulturalist politicians are imposing"vibrant" third world social violence ontoAustralians, and Australians don't get to voteagainst this "bipartisan" conspiracy. Thehyperactive globalist politicians and media dronesmight find themselves facing firing squads if theydon't change their corrupt ways.
2009 December 18, Benway (original non-Zionist), “Shocking Jewish faggot property pimp attack on Australia”, in aus.politics (Usenet)
2011 September 2, corella, “What does it mean when gibbering media drones say that grotesque Asian-style "Stack and Pack" slums and plague immigration are vibrant?”, in aus.politics (Usenet)
Instead, you got into lockstep with all the other hive-mind libtard drones and voted for the slimy corrupt scumbag bitch who was under *two* active Congressional investigations (a first in history, BTW), Hitlery Clinton.
2017 January 19, The Party Of Trump (The Party For Winners), “Re: Clinton Cash”, in alt.checkmate (Usenet)
verb
third-person singular simple present drones, present participle droning, simple past and past participle droned
(transitive, colloquial) To kill with a missile fired by unmanned aircraft.
Quotations
"I have a lot of advice for him," Ayers said in the interview, aired Tuesday night. "I want him to stop droning people. I want him to close Guantanamo. I want universal healthcare. Don't you think we deserve universal healthcare? Seriously."
2014, Colin Campbell, “Bill Ayers To Obama: 'Stop Droning People'”, in Business Insider
“Are we still droning people? Yeah,” he said. “Are we still running covert operations that weren’t authorized by Congress? Yeah. Is the government still spying on Americans without warrants? Without due process. Yeah. When some libertarians talk about the great accomplishments we’re seeing on foreign policy, I don’t know what they’re talking about. Reaching out to these guys is one thing, but you have to move down the court. [Trump] actually made it harder for us to have a good relationship with Russia.”
2018, David Weigel, “The new ‘Dr. No’: Rep. Justin Amash, marooned in Congress”, in Washington Post
drone2
noun
plural drones