From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishreconnaissancere‧con‧nais‧sance /rɪˈkɒnəsəns $ rɪˈkɑː-/ noun [countable, uncountable] PMthe military activity of sending soldiers and aircraft to find out about the enemy’s forces reconnaissance aircraft a reconnaissance mission wartime roles such as observation and reconnaissance
Examples from the Corpus
reconnaissance• At best the amphibious raiders might have panoramic shots from aerial reconnaissance, or be given a flight over the target beach.• This lone air reconnaissance effort, however, would obviously not be enough.• There was little doubt that tactical support and reconnaissance for the land battle would still need piloted machines.• In a conflict these would be vital for military communications, reconnaissance and even guiding missiles to their targets.• Later reconnaissance indicated that this had sunk.• The visit to Tempe was in any case not a military reconnaissance.• In reality, the Navy was undertaking only minimal reconnaissance, mainly because of a lack of airplanes.• Infantry traditionally performed three roles: It held ground, took ground, and con-ducted precise reconnaissance when on patrol.Origin reconnaissance (1800-1900) French reconnaître, from Latin recognoscere; → RECOGNIZE 