unmanned

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, 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 unmanned in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

China’s parade also included unmanned maritime combat systems, including unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), surface vessels, and mine-laying systems. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025

The nuclear-capable unmanned vehicle that looks like a narrow submarine with a propeller measures up to 65 feet in length and could be used on surveillance and reconnaissance missions, according to the BBC. —Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Andy Wong/Associated Press Other systems included China's new 60-foot unmanned underwater vehicles and what state media described as the LY-1 laser weapon. —Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

And then there were the unmanned maritime systems. —Amir Husain, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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