reconnaissance

noun

re·​con·​nais·​sance ri-ˈkä-nə-zən(t)s 

-sən(t)s

: a preliminary survey to gain information

especially : an exploratory military survey of enemy territory

Examples of reconnaissance in a Sentence

There are two helicopters available for reconnaissance.

They did a reconnaissance of the enemy's position.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lateral movement can produce indicators such as unusual account access, authentication activity, privilege escalation attempts or network reconnaissance. — Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026

Potential missions include reconnaissance, ammunition delivery, mine laying and clearance, evacuation, position defense and strikes. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026

Attackers are already using AI to automate reconnaissance and industrialize work that used to require actual people. — Srinivas Mukkamala, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026

These often work in coordination with flying drones such as Russian Geran drones that provide aerial reconnaissance and can boost communication between drone operators and drone boats, Sutton explained. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, recognition, from Middle French reconoissance, from Old French reconoistre to recognize

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

reconnaissance

noun

re·​con·​nais·​sance ri-ˈkän-ə-zən(t)s 

: a survey (as of enemy territory) to gain information