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.

---

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

The rest is gated behind driverless testing later this year, paid passenger pickups before year’s end and expansion through 2027.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026

The robotaxi is the nearest-term and most testable piece of that bet, and this spring it amounted to about 20 driverless Tesla Model Y vehicles in Austin, Dallas and Houston.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026

Cohen, who has spent nearly two decades working on electric and autonomous vehicles at companies including Uber, Apple and Waabi, said Humble’s driverless truck dubbed the Humble Hauler could begin customer pilots within the year.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026

The move is yet another example that the long-promised era of driverless cars has arrived.

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 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