reconnaissance

noun

re·​con·​nais·​sance ri-ˈkä-nə-zən(t)s How to pronounce reconnaissance (audio)
-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
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.
Oleksandr Dmitriev, the founder of a Ukrainian system that centralizes feeds from thousands of drone crews across the frontline, told Reuters the outage was an example of the shortcomings of relying on cloud services for military operations, particularly battlefield drone reconnaissance. Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 25 July 2025 But in reality, airplanes were used for guidance, observation and reconnaissance, aiding ground troops far more often than fighting other aviators in the sky. Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2025 In March 2024, Russian reconnaissance units attempted a crossing near the Antonivskyi Bridge but were driven back under fire mid-river. Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025 The United States will reportedly deploy the MQ-9 armed reconnaissance drone, commonly known as the Reaper, to South Korea amid growing threats from China and North Korea. Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for reconnaissance

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of reconnaissance was in 1779

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reconnaissance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reconnaissance. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

reconnaissance

noun
re·​con·​nais·​sance ri-ˈkän-ə-zən(t)s How to pronounce reconnaissance (audio)
: a survey (as of enemy territory) to gain information
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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