Reconnaissance
/ɹiˈkɒnəsəns/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of scouting or exploring (especially military or medical) to gain information. countable, uncountable
"The third member, Sergeant Pieter Rousseau, had been with the back-up teams at the Hub; he was an expert on space reconnaissance instrumentation, but on this trip he would have to depend on his own eyes and a small portable telescope."
- 2 the act of reconnoitring (especially to gain information about an enemy or potential enemy) wordnet
Example
More examples"A reconnaissance satellite is a military satellite capable of monitoring many activities on earth, eavesdropping on lines, registering the operating frequency of the radar systems..."
Etymology
Borrowed from French reconnaissance (“recognition”). Doublet of recognizance.