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
Lorenzo Rojas-Martinez was allegedly operating the unmanned drone on June 12 in restricted airspace near Centennial Olympic Park during the 2026 FIFA Fan Festival in Atlanta while standing in a nearby parking area and recording video of the event, federal prosecutors said.
—
Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026
The company aims to reduce operator workload while enabling larger groups of unmanned systems to coordinate actions during missions.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 18 June 2026
Air’s Heavy-Lift UAS cargo, an unmanned VTOL built around a similar platform, has been operating for two years, while the more refined Air One, with new avionics, motors, and upgraded battery systems, is undergoing flight testing.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 18 June 2026
For the first time ever, all 78 of the World Cup’s matches will be protected with counter-UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) mitigation equipment, and there are now higher fines in place against flying drones near sports stadiums.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for unmanned
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Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026
The company aims to reduce operator workload while enabling larger groups of unmanned systems to coordinate actions during missions.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 18 June 2026
Air’s Heavy-Lift UAS cargo, an unmanned VTOL built around a similar platform, has been operating for two years, while the more refined Air One, with new avionics, motors, and upgraded battery systems, is undergoing flight testing.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 18 June 2026
For the first time ever, all 78 of the World Cup’s matches will be protected with counter-UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) mitigation equipment, and there are now higher fines in place against flying drones near sports stadiums.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for unmanned
Cite this Entry
“Unmanned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unmanned. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unmanned
adjective
un·manned
ˌən-ˈmand 
ˈən-
: having no crew aboard
an unmanned spacecraft
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