Meaning & use
reconnoitering
Last updated
Making a preliminary survey of an area, especially to gather military information about an enemy or unfamiliar terrain.
See it in a sentence
Scouts spent the morning reconnoitering the valley before the main force advanced.
The hikers spent an hour reconnoitering the trailhead before committing to a route.
A note on using this word
From French reconnoitre (to recognize), the term entered English through military usage and gave rise to the shortened noun recon.
Words with a similar meaning
scoutingsurveying
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