reconnaissance

noun

re·​con·​nais·​sance ri-ˈkä-nə-zən(t)s 

-sən(t)s

: a preliminary survey to gain information

especially : an exploratory military survey of enemy territory

Examples of reconnaissance in a Sentence

There are two helicopters available for reconnaissance.

They did a reconnaissance of the enemy's position.

Recent Examples on the Web

Swarms of inexpensive drones could complicate enemy defenses, conduct reconnaissance, carry out strike missions, and support larger operations more efficiently than relying solely on premium unmanned aircraft. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 11 July 2026

Sysdig's research reveals JadePuffer, the first agentic ransomware, leveraging AI to automate nearly all attack stages, from reconnaissance to data encryption and ransom note generation. — Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

That customer support, to a suspicious eye, looks a lot like reconnaissance. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 July 2026

Raymond said on Friday that an exhaustive review of video surveillance footage from the days leading up to the explosion allegedly captured Berezovk making several reconnaissance visits to the building. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 3 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, recognition, from Middle French reconoissance, from Old French reconoistre to recognize

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

reconnaissance

noun

re·​con·​nais·​sance ri-ˈkän-ə-zən(t)s 

: a survey (as of enemy territory) to gain information