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
On Thursday, another manned mission will launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, carrying three astronauts to Tiangong.
—
Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2025
China has constructed a space station; was the first to land a probe on the dark side of the moon; and is in a race with the NASA-led Artemis program to send a manned mission to Earth's natural satellite, with plans for an eventual permanent base there.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
China is moving ahead with its goal of a manned lunar landing before the end of the decade while planning new missions to its Tiangong space station this year.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Thus qualified for manned space flight, the Speedy accompanied astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission, where Aldrin wore his ref.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2024
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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Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2025
China has constructed a space station; was the first to land a probe on the dark side of the moon; and is in a race with the NASA-led Artemis program to send a manned mission to Earth's natural satellite, with plans for an eventual permanent base there.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
China is moving ahead with its goal of a manned lunar landing before the end of the decade while planning new missions to its Tiangong space station this year.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Thus qualified for manned space flight, the Speedy accompanied astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission, where Aldrin wore his ref.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for manned
Cite this Entry
“Manned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manned. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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manned
adjective
: carrying or performed by a person
manned spaceflight
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