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
In a matter of months, unmanned vehicles have gone from rare frontline curiosities to standard issue.
—
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
For less than the price of one such vessel, the Navy could add a fleet of unmanned surface and undersea vehicles that could address a broad range of risks.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 30 May 2026
South Korea has selected gaming and AI firm NC AI and defense manufacturer Hyundai Rotem to develop next-generation military robotics technologies aimed at advancing autonomous battlefield systems and manned-unmanned combat operations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Wall Street's favorite drone plays In another note from March, analysts at Canaccord Genuity wrote the Iran war's impact will likely favor makers of both tactical drones and counter-unmanned aerial systems.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for unmanned
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Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
For less than the price of one such vessel, the Navy could add a fleet of unmanned surface and undersea vehicles that could address a broad range of risks.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 30 May 2026
South Korea has selected gaming and AI firm NC AI and defense manufacturer Hyundai Rotem to develop next-generation military robotics technologies aimed at advancing autonomous battlefield systems and manned-unmanned combat operations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Wall Street's favorite drone plays In another note from March, analysts at Canaccord Genuity wrote the Iran war's impact will likely favor makers of both tactical drones and counter-unmanned aerial systems.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 28 May 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 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unmanned
adjective
un·manned
ˌən-ˈmand 
ˈən-
: having no crew aboard
an unmanned spacecraft
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