see usage paragraph below
: carrying, staffed, or performed by one or more people
a manned security booth
manned spaceflight
a manned mission
Usage of Manned and Unmanned
While manned and unmanned are still commonly used in news sources to describe spaceflights with and without human crews, respectively, NASA has since the early 21st century used and prescribed gender-neutral terms, preferring such descriptors as human, piloted, and crewed for the former, and unpiloted and uncrewed for the latter.
Examples of manned in a Sentence
a manned mission to the moon
Recent Examples on the Web
His mom is on a mission Trajectory Aviation offers flight training as well as drone and manned aircraft imaging, its website reads.
—
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026
All manned spaces and berthing areas, which are subdivided to provide semi-private spaces without adversely affecting efficiency, are individually heated and air-conditioned.
—Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
South Korea has selected gaming and AI firm NC AI and defense manufacturer Hyundai Rotem to develop next-generation military robotics technologies aimed at advancing autonomous battlefield systems and manned-unmanned combat operations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Another attraction in Star City is the Museum of Cosmonautics, which contains an impressive collection of documents and materials chronicling the history of manned cosmonautics.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for manned
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.
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026
All manned spaces and berthing areas, which are subdivided to provide semi-private spaces without adversely affecting efficiency, are individually heated and air-conditioned.
—Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
South Korea has selected gaming and AI firm NC AI and defense manufacturer Hyundai Rotem to develop next-generation military robotics technologies aimed at advancing autonomous battlefield systems and manned-unmanned combat operations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Another attraction in Star City is the Museum of Cosmonautics, which contains an impressive collection of documents and materials chronicling the history of manned cosmonautics.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for manned
Cite this Entry
“Manned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manned. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
manned
adjective
: carrying or performed by a person
manned spaceflight
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
