drone vs screed

drone

noun
  • A humming or deep murmuring sound. 

  • One of the fixed-pitch pipes on a bagpipe. 

  • One who performs menial or tedious work. 

  • A person without the ability to think critically and independently, especially one who follows a group blindly; a non-player character. 

  • A remotely controlled aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). 

  • A Toyota HiAce or a similar van, especially one used by Ugandan state agents to kidnap opposition members. 

  • A male ant, bee or wasp, which does not work but can fertilize the queen. 

  • A genre of music that uses repeated lengthy droning sounds. 

  • A low-pitched hum or buzz. 

verb
  • To speak in a monotone way. 

  • To produce a low-pitched hum or buzz. 

  • To kill with a missile fired by unmanned aircraft. 

screed

noun
  • The sound of something scratching or tearing. 

  • Chiefly in the plural form screeds: a large quantity. 

  • A speech or piece of writing which contains angry and extended criticism. 

  • A tool such as a long strip of wood or other material which is drawn over a wet layer of concrete, plaster, etc., to make it smooth and flat; also, a machine that achieves this effect; a screeder. 

  • A smooth, flat layer of concrete, plaster, or similar material, especially if acting as a base for paving stones, tiles, wooden planks, etc. 

  • A (discordant) sound or tune played on bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe. 

  • A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long. 

  • A tool, usually a long strip of wood or other material, placed on a floor to be covered with concrete, a wall to be plastered, etc., as a guide for producing a smooth, flat surface. 

verb
  • To become rent or torn. 

  • To use a screed to produce a smooth, flat surface of concrete, plaster, or similar material; also (generally) to put down a layer of concrete, plaster, etc. 

  • To make a discordant or harsh scratching or tearing sound. 

  • To play bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe. 

adj
  • Strewn with scree. 

How often have the words drone and screed occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )