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

See Examples For:

driverless

Zoox, Amazon’s robotaxi effort, launched its first paid, driverless rides in Las Vegas earlier this week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

I now use vision models, the same technology that powers driverless cars, and I work with sovereign wealth funds on systematic signals for commodities trading.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Through drought and earthquake, and from horse-drawn wagons to driverless cars, they have delivered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

The company offers driverless rides in 11 U.S. cities and is planning to soon expand the service to Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego and Tampa, Fla., Waymo announced on Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The next moment his own horses dash around the corner into State street, driverless and running away.

From David Lockwin—The People's Idol by John McGovern