unmanned

1 of 2

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 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.

unmanned

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of unman

Examples of unmanned in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The system is also designed to support operations involving both manned and unmanned surface vessel platforms. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026

Developed by Ukrainian technology company SkyFall, the drone is intended to reduce rescue times from hours to minutes, reaching hard-to-access combat zones that are currently served by unmanned ground vehicles. — Derek Gatopoulos, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026

Other militaries, including Israel’s, should contribute intelligence, sea drones and other unmanned capabilities,maintenance and logistical support, and personnel. — Dana Stroul, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2026

Kyiv’s use of unmanned boats shows how low-cost weapons can threaten a stronger navy. — Matt Reisener, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

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