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

Some of the unmanned aircraft were intercepted after crossing into Israel from Lebanon, while the others were shot down before entering the east of the country from the direction of Syria and Iraq, the IDF said. —David Brennan, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2024

Now the most advanced operations, using technology developed for the oil-and-gas industry or subsea mining, deploy unmanned vehicles—with delicate instruments, suction cups, and laser-scanning capabilities—in waters fifteen times as deep. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

This is said to have involved training in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing. —Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

The unmanned aerial vehicle was said to have penetrated North Korean airspace near South Hwanghae Province's Jangyon County and Cho Islet, a small islet off that province's west coast. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1544, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

unmanned

adjective

un·​manned ˌən-ˈmand 

ˈən-

: having no crew aboard

an unmanned spacecraft