as in surveillance
military activity in which soldiers, airplanes, etc., are sent to find out information about an enemy
There are two helicopters available for reconnaissance. reconnaissance missions
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Recent Examples of reconnaissance
The lunar reconnaissance orbiter flies by at about 31 miles high.
—
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Vanity Fair Italy took a trip to Villa Magnani in Traversetolo for reconnaissance.
—Chiara Pizzimenti, Vanity Fair, 31 Mar. 2026
That was the largest naval-convoy endeavor since the Second World War, and included aircraft carriers and reconnaissance planes.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026
The captain still remembers the day a Russian Orlan reconnaissance drone hung above a Ukrainian position, transmitting coordinates to guide Russian artillery.
—Arkansas Online, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reconnaissance
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Vanity Fair Italy took a trip to Villa Magnani in Traversetolo for reconnaissance.
—Chiara Pizzimenti, Vanity Fair, 31 Mar. 2026
That was the largest naval-convoy endeavor since the Second World War, and included aircraft carriers and reconnaissance planes.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026
The captain still remembers the day a Russian Orlan reconnaissance drone hung above a Ukrainian position, transmitting coordinates to guide Russian artillery.
—Arkansas Online, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reconnaissance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reconnaissance
Noun
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Police also obtained surveillance footage showing Elijah getting into the driver’s seat of the Nissan at Oak Ridge High just 13 minutes before the hit-and-run.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Apr. 2026
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Soyfer said one of the goals of the litigation is to build a movement that leads to a higher ruling to broadly curb the surveillance state promoted by the widespread adoption of ALPR cameras.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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County officials declined to answer questions about the grandmother’s account, including whether a social worker documented any such observation.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
20 Apr. 2026
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An artist observes carefully, especially things that go unnoticed — and transforms these observations into meaningful expressions.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reconnaissance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reconnaissance. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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