driverless

American  

[drahy-ver-lis] / ˈdraɪ vər lɪs /

adjective

1. 1. not having a human driver in control.

      The horse became startled and the now driverless horse-drawn carriage ran into a car.

   2. without a human operator.

      driverless machinery.

2. (of a vehicle) navigated and maneuvered by a computer without a need for human control or intervention under a range of driving situations and conditions.

   a driverless car.

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Etymology

Origin of driverless

First recorded in 1840–1850

Explanation

If you spot a car cruising down the road without a human at the wheel, don’t worry — it's not a ghost driving, it's probably just a driverless vehicle. The word driverless means exactly what it sounds like: a vehicle with no one driving it. The word combines driver, someone who drives or controls movement, with the suffix -less, which means "without." Driverless vehicles use technology like sensors and computers to "see" the road and make decisions without a person behind the wheel.

Example Sentences

As for Tesla’s work on autonomous vehicles and driverless technology, Oppenheimer isn’t too optimistic.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

Baidu operates its Apollo Go driverless taxi service in dozens of cities across the world, mostly in China.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Apollo Go delivered 3.4 million driverless rides, with total rides increasing over 200 percent compared to the same period a year prior, according to company filings.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

But since then, Tesla’s focus has shifted to services such as artificial-intelligence, robotics and driverless Cybercabs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Indeed, king Yudhishthira the just, staying on his steedless and driverless car, desired to take up a dart.

From The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 by Ganguli, Kisari Mohan