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

Dietz was killed June 28, 2005 during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan. —Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026

It's reinforced with tanks, artillery, amphibious vehicles, engineers and reconnaissance assets. —George Petras, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026

Reaper drones can be used as reconnaissance aircraft, but they are also equipped with Hellfire missiles used to strike targets. —Luis Martinez, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026

The robots were sent to the frontline for reconnaissance as part of efforts to test the platform in a real combat environment, reports Futurism. —Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 16 Mar. 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