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 project is focused on batteries for Group 1, 2 and 3 unmanned aerial systems. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026

With the Artemis program laying the groundwork for mankind's return to the moon, something like this rover could, manned or unmanned, end up driving across its surface. — Chris McMullen, Space.com, 22 Sep. 2026

There’s also an aerospace gallery, where visitors can learn more about the Space Race and discover a collection of unmanned aerial vehicles, like the General Atomics MQ-1B Predator and the Radioplane OQ-3. — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 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