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

Rights groups have said the use of unmanned aircraft has become increasingly common in the northeast African nation’s war. — ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026

The companies said the system went from concept to live demonstration in six months, highlighting their efforts to rapidly integrate existing defense technology onto commercial unmanned vessels. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026

The unmanned mission aimed to grab hold of and boost Swift upwards, extending its lifespan for roughly a decade. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026

These results reflect one of the most sophisticated domestic counter-unmanned aircraft operations ever conducted. — Bill Edwards, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 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