remote-controlled

remote-controlled — adjective

1. describes a vehicle, toy, or device whose movements or functions are directed fr

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a vehicle, toy, or device whose movements or functions are directed from a distance by a person using a hand-held transmitter, rather than by someone sitting inside it or touching it directly

Example

Vikram's remote-controlled car raced across the playground and crashed into a tree.

attributive: remote-controlled + noun (vehicle)

The drone is remote-controlled, so Selim can fly it from inside his house.

predicative: be + remote-controlled

Common collocations
  • remote-controlled car
  • remote-controlled drone
  • remote-controlled toy
  • remote-controlled vehicle
  • remote-controlled helicopter
  • remote-controlled crane
  • remote-controlled vacuum cleaner
  • remote-controlled submarine
  • remote-controlled system
  • remote-controlled gate
Synonyms
  • radio-controlled

    narrower — refers specifically to devices controlled via radio frequency signals, whereas remote-controlled can also use infrared, Bluetooth, or cable

  • unmanned

    focuses on the absence of a human crew aboard rather than the method of direction; an unmanned vehicle could be autonomous rather than remote-controlled

  • wireless

    broader — simply means no physical connection, not necessarily that the device is directed by a person from a distance

Antonyms
  • manual

    operated by direct human touch or hand-powered mechanisms, not from a distance

  • manned

    having a human crew on board to operate the vehicle directly

Grammar Patterns

remote-controlled + noun

be + remote-controlled

Usage Note

Often used attributively before a noun (a remote-controlled car) but also functions predicatively after be (the car is remote-controlled). The compound is always hyphenated.

Common Mistakes

The car is remote control.
The car is remote-controlled.
remote control (no hyphen) is a noun; remote-controlled (with hyphen) is an adjective.
I bought a remote control helicopter.
I bought a remote-controlled helicopter.
when used as a modifier before a noun, use the hyphenated adjective form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words describe devices that operate with reduced or no direct manual contact, but they differ in scope and emphasis. Remote-controlled is the broadest term, covering any device directed from a distance — whether by radio, infrared, or cable. Radio-controlled is a subset that specifically uses radio frequency signals, common in hobby aircraft and model cars. Unmanned focuses on the absence of a human operator aboard (e.g., an unmanned aerial vehicle) and says nothing about how the device is guided — it may follow a pre-programmed route rather than being piloted in real time. Wireless simply means no physical connection; a wireless speaker is not remote-controlled because no one directs it from a distance. Robotic implies programmed or autonomous behaviour rather than moment-by-moment human direction. For example, a remote-controlled toy car needs a driver with a transmitter at all times, whereas a robotic vacuum cleaner maps and cleans a room by itself.

remote-controlled ↗radio-controlledunmanned ↗wireless ↗robotic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • by remote control
  • from a distance
  • via radio signal

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word combines 'remote' (from Latin 'remotus', meaning 'far away' or 'distant'), 'control' (from Medieval Latin 'contrarotulum', a counter-roll used for checking accounts, later developing the sense of 'direct' or 'regulate'), and the adjective-forming suffix '-ed'. The noun phrase 'remote control' first appeared in the early 1900s alongside early radio technology, and the hyphenated adjective form 'remote-controlled' emerged shortly after as wireless and infrared control systems became common in toys, military equipment, and household devices.