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

The upgrade comes amid growing interest in unmanned systems that can deliver flexible surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities without requiring extensive infrastructure. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026

Vantor is one of several companies that provide reconnaissance imagery of locations around the world to the US military and US intelligence agencies. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026

For military and intelligence agencies, the potential now existed for reconnaissance at a far larger scale than what was possible with high-altitude aircraft. — Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Then, a friend told her about Holy Family in Springfield, which prompted her reconnaissance mission. — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 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