reconnaissance

American  

[ri-kon-uh-suhns, -zuhns] / rɪˈkɒn ə səns, -zəns /

Or reconnoissance

noun

• reconnaissances
  plural

1. the act of reconnoitering.

2. Military. a search made for useful military information in the field, especially by examining the ground.

3. Surveying, Civil Engineering. a general examination or survey of a region, usually followed by a detailed survey.

4. Geology. an examination or survey of the general geological characteristics of a region.

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reconnaissance British  

/ rɪˈkɒnɪsəns /

noun

1. the act of reconnoitring

2. the process of obtaining information about the position, activities, resources, etc, of an enemy or potential enemy

3. a preliminary inspection of an area of land before an engineering survey is made

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• reconnaissances
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of reconnaissance

1800–10; < French; Middle French reconoissance recognizance

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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.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reconnaissance reconnaissances

Interest in the expedition prompted New Zealand's Air Force Museum to publish, external previously unseen reconnaissance images of Nikumaroro on Friday.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Their arrests were brought forward after the main suspect carried out a reconnaissance visit to the Fondation Maeght.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

A Magyar’s Birds reconnaissance team spotted a cluster of expensive enemy vehicles—a “tasty” or “juicy” target, the soldiers say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Juris Jurašs, who served as a Latvian lawmaker before joining the Ukrainian military as a reconnaissance company commander in 2022, chuckled when he heard about the exercise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Since the days of Alexander the Great, mounted troops had proved decisive in offensive warfare and had served as an army’s eyes, ranging far afield on reconnaissance missions.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

There will be reconnaissances to Trent Bridge to have a look at Australia's opener, Ed Cowan, who has signed for Nottinghamshire for the early part of the season.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 6, 2013

Taylor was harder on himself than anyone, making personal reconnaissances by Jeep, risking injury unnecessarily by sitting stubbornly at a staff table while shells fell in the courtyard outside.

From Time Magazine Archive

Since then there have been three major reconnaissances of nerves.

From Time Magazine Archive

As an intelligence officer, Mowat is particularly vulnerable when he delivers messages and undertakes reconnaissances.

From Time Magazine Archive

Later on, in the Franco-Prussian War, he distinguished himself by his daring cavalry reconnaissances in Alsace.

From The War in the Air; Vol. 1 The Part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force by Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh

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Related Words

• exploration
• surveillance

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