reconnoiter

variants or reconnoitre
Definition of reconnoiternext
as in to explore
to go to (a place or area) in order to find out information especially about a military enemy; to do a reconnaissance of (a place) An expedition reconnoitered the coast to find out the exact location of enemy forces.

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of reconnoiter Some drones drop bombs, some serve as missiles, while others reconnoiter. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026 How Drones Challenge Snipers Unmanned Aircraft Systems, including fiber optic drones, can reconnoiter vast stretches of territory and can use a wide variety of sensors to perform surveillance. Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2026 What kind of action plan is visualized to reconnoiter that object? Leonard David, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2025 The paddlers quickly pulled off to the right bank, secured the canoes and set up camp, while a scouting party hacked their way through the brush to reconnoiter. Larry Rohter, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2023 Beginning in late 2026, Hera will reconnoiter both Dimorphos and Didymos to take measurements of the rocks and show how DART changed the system. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Mar. 2023 Along the way the spacecraft will scrutinize Saturn’s mysterious and spectacular rings and reconnoiter its many satellite worlds, especially Titan — the largest moon in the solar system and, it is believed, the only one with its own atmosphere. Alex Orlando, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reconnoiter
Verb
  • The research, published in Chem Circularity, explores a system based on calcium looping, a process that uses the same basic material—limestone—that is already central to cement manufacturing.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Art fairs, collectors’ homes, artists’ studios, galas… The film is a welcoming and entertaining dive amongst the 1% and explores the complicated relationship between artists and commerce.
    Leo Barraclough, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Farinacci often spent days and even weeks scouting potential fire locations, monitoring weather and wildfire data, and planning to set multiple fires to stretch firefighting resources thin, according to detectives.
    Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
  • In the two years Futsi has hosted local street soccer players, not only has community been formed, but players have received major opportunities to play in international tournaments and get scouted by college teams.
    Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reconnoiter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reconnoiter. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on reconnoiter

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!