unmanned
Americanadjective
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without the physical presence of a person or people on board; uncrewed.
an unmanned spacecraft.
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Falconry. (of a captured hawk) untrained for hunting with a master; unmade.
adjective
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lacking personnel or crew
an unmanned ship
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(of aircraft, spacecraft, etc) operated by automatic or remote control
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uninhabited
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falconry (of a hawk or falcon) not yet trained to accept humans
Etymology
Origin of unmanned
First recorded in 1535–45; un- 1 ( def. ) + manned ( def. )
Explanation
Something that's unmanned doesn't have a driver, pilot, captain, or anyone else controlling or steering it. An unmanned space mission is launched without human passengers or crew. When a vehicle is unmanned, it's controlled from far away or by a robotic or autopilot system. Aerial vehicles like drones, surveillance planes, and spacecraft usually have cameras so that people on the ground can see what is happening nearby or beneath them. Other things are sometimes unmanned as well: "The reference desk was unmanned, so I couldn't ask my question."
Vocabulary lists containing unmanned
Tolkien Reading Day, List 9
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 17–April 23, 2021
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"Going to the Moon"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"What I care about is whether the legislation meets the nation's needs -- whether it aligns with our indigenous defence strategy and the various requirements for developing our drone and unmanned vehicle industries," Cho said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
At the time, it said it had repurposed a building in order to produce the unmanned aircraft as part of a £200m investment.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Others thinking along similar lines include Drone Amplified, a startup whose unmanned aerial vehicles drop balls containing fire-starting chemicals to ignite controlled burns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Developed by American startup Katalyst, the unmanned spacecraft was launched on July 3 by a small rocket named Pegasus, which was itself launched from an airplane.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Have the years so unmanned you that you tremble at the shadow of an unborn child?"
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
