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

All aircraft was grounded due to an unmanned aircraft this evening over the fire. —Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 25 June 2025

Shares of AeroVironment, which makes unmanned aircraft systems, were already up 6% in the premarket after the company reported strong earnings after Tuesday's close. —Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 25 June 2025

Advances in autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones, are driving the rapidly emerging advanced air mobility sector to the precipice of such a transformation. —Matthew Graczyk, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

At least 14 other countries now use unmanned aerial vehicles for law enforcement and surveillance. —Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 18 June 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