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 non-gender-specific 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
The initiative was intended to replace Abrams tanks and Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicles with a fleet of manned and unmanned systems.
—
Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025
Often, former fighter pilots piloted the drones and used aircraft tasking processes that mimicked those designed for manned aircraft.
—Jacquelyn Schneider, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2025
The implementation of a nationwide, real-time database of UAS flights could ultimately allow drones to exist alongside manned aircraft, further cementing the United States’ ability to protect both its domestic and international assets while aiding its citizens.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2025
But the Ukrainian air force has just 125 or so manned fighters and must take care not to lose too many, too fast.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for manned
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025
Often, former fighter pilots piloted the drones and used aircraft tasking processes that mimicked those designed for manned aircraft.
—Jacquelyn Schneider, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2025
The implementation of a nationwide, real-time database of UAS flights could ultimately allow drones to exist alongside manned aircraft, further cementing the United States’ ability to protect both its domestic and international assets while aiding its citizens.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2025
But the Ukrainian air force has just 125 or so manned fighters and must take care not to lose too many, too fast.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for manned
Cite this Entry
“Manned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manned. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
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manned
adjective
: carrying or performed by a person
manned spaceflight
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