unmanned

adjective

un·​manned ˌən-ˈmand 

1

see usage paragraph below : not carrying, staffed, or performed by people : not manned

an unmanned railroad crossing

unmanned spaceflight

2

of a hawk : not trained

Usage of Manned and Unmanned

While manned and unmanned are still commonly used in news sources to describe spaceflights, 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 unmanned in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Luck was referring to the Houthi group's use of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as their unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles. —Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025

The unmanned spacecraft experienced a successful initial launch on March 31, 1972, and temporarily orbited Earth. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 6 May 2025

Tiny unmanned aerial vehicles are everywhere all the time over the front line in Ukraine, and account for a significant proportion of losses—including artillery losses—on both sides. —David Axe, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025

On Tuesday, a report from The Athletic, citing an unmanned NFL team executive, highlighted decisions Sanders made that could have contributed to some teams becoming disillusioned with the former Colorado quarterback leading up to the NFL Draft. —Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1544, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for unmanned

• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand
• hinterland
• motherland

Kids Definition

unmanned

adjective

un·​manned ˌən-ˈmand 

ˈən-

: having no crew aboard

an unmanned spacecraft