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.
Examples of unmanned in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The move is likely to intensify the strategic competition over unmanned systems in the Middle East.
—
Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
But Navy leaders describe the Saronic award as a model for introducing future unmanned platforms into the fleet.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 9 Dec. 2025
The Reapers are unmanned single-engine turboprops that can perform a variety of combat and other missions, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
In some situations, governmental entities can restrict the flying of unmanned aerial vehicles during events like those at Lucas Oil Stadium or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unmanned
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Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
But Navy leaders describe the Saronic award as a model for introducing future unmanned platforms into the fleet.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 9 Dec. 2025
The Reapers are unmanned single-engine turboprops that can perform a variety of combat and other missions, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
In some situations, governmental entities can restrict the flying of unmanned aerial vehicles during events like those at Lucas Oil Stadium or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unmanned
Cite this Entry
“Unmanned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unmanned. Accessed 13 Dec. 2025.
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unmanned
adjective
un·manned
ˌən-ˈmand 
ˈən-
: having no crew aboard
an unmanned spacecraft
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