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
When a suspect car is identified, cops will be able to launch unmanned surveillance vehicles supplied by partner Skydio.
—
Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
The bill primarily focuses on further regulating the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) while broadening the scope of locations that are protected from drone flights within the state, such as airports and correctional facilities.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Beijing first released rules for unmanned aircraft flight — vehicles without a pilot on board — in June 2023.
—Dylan Butts,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
Co-led by the U.K. and Latvia, the initiative was launched in January 2024 to enhance Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities.
—Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unmanned
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Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
The bill primarily focuses on further regulating the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) while broadening the scope of locations that are protected from drone flights within the state, such as airports and correctional facilities.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Beijing first released rules for unmanned aircraft flight — vehicles without a pilot on board — in June 2023.
—Dylan Butts,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
Co-led by the U.K. and Latvia, the initiative was launched in January 2024 to enhance Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities.
—Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025
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 May. 2025.
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unmanned
adjective
un·manned
ˌən-ˈmand 
ˈən-
: having no crew aboard
an unmanned spacecraft
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