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

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.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reconnaissance reconnaissances

One has said he was conscripted at 17 and served in a reconnaissance unit.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

It includes the construction of fortifications, equipment depots, as well as reconnaissance and anti-drone installations.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

The panel said the "asbestos risk associated with Skrunda-1 had not been correctly identified" and concluded there had been "insufficient reconnaissance and an assumption of safety".

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Investigators have linked Russia to small-scale sabotage and reconnaissance across Europe, often involving locals hired over Telegram or other social-media platforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

A career military man, commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II, he’d seen plenty of aerial reconnaissance photos.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

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

He was the first British soldier to be wounded in an aeroplane, and this casualty seemed to bring the German armies nearer than a dozen unmolested reconnaissances could have done.

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

Related Words

• exploration
• surveillance