reconnaissance
Americannoun
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the act of reconnoitering.
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Military. a search made for useful military information in the field, especially by examining the ground.
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Surveying, Civil Engineering. a general examination or survey of a region, usually followed by a detailed survey.
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Geology. an examination or survey of the general geological characteristics of a region.
noun
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the act of reconnoitring
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the process of obtaining information about the position, activities, resources, etc, of an enemy or potential enemy
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a preliminary inspection of an area of land before an engineering survey is made
Etymology
Origin of reconnaissance
1800–10; < French; Middle French reconoissance recognizance
Explanation
Reconnaissance is checking out a situation before taking action. Often it’s used as a military term, but you could also do reconnaissance on a new employee before you hire her, or a resort before you take a vacation. Reconnaissance is a noun, and it technically means “the act of reconnoitering.” Whoa. Never heard that word before? Reconnoitering is just a fancy way of saying that you’re checking something out — sometimes in a sneaky way. If you like a girl in your Spanish class, you might ask a friend to do some reconnaissance to find out what she’s like. The word comes from the French reconnaître, which means “recognize.”
Vocabulary lists containing reconnaissance
In the Know: Cogn, Conn
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Unbroken
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey orbiter, Curiosity rover, and Perseverance rover will contribute observations and navigation support.
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office, aside from commercial customers.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2026
BlackSea Technologies referred questions about the exercise to the Navy since its boat, the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft, is an official Navy program.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
A US Air Force plane from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, flies into the eye of Hurricane Melissa, as the category 5 Hurricane approaches Jamaica.
From Barron's • Oct. 28, 2025
I went up to people and asked if they knew anything that I should know, because sometimes Dad would design Reconnaissance Expeditions so I would have to talk to people.
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
