reconnoiter

[ ree-kuh-noi-ter, rek-uh- ]
See synonyms for reconnoiter on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to inspect, observe, or survey (the enemy, the enemy's strength or position, a region, etc.) in order to gain information for military purposes.

  2. to examine or survey (a region, area, etc.) for engineering, geological, or other purposes.

verb (used without object)
  1. to make a reconnaissance.

Origin of reconnoiter

1
1700–10; <French reconnoître (now obsolete) to explore, Middle French reconoistre.See recognize

Other words from reconnoiter

  • re·con·noi·ter·er, noun
  • un·re·con·noi·tered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use reconnoiter in a sentence

  • Minutes after we entered the Air and Space Museum, we were standing beside the display of moon rocks reconnoitering the situation.

  • My father-in-law called him the "heavy artillery," bringing up the rear after the Jack Russell reconnoitering party.

    RIP Cobber | David Frum | October 1, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Then I caught a whiff of burning wood and in ten minutes I was reconnoitering a tiny glade.

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • The third day after my arrival I went out with a reconnoitering expedition, under command of General M.

    Nurse and Spy in the Union Army | S. Emma E. Edmonds
  • Two figures loomed through the white fog; paused, as if reconnoitering in the dim half-light.

    Quicksilver Sue | Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
  • Herbert Miller, too, was of considerable use, the four doing a lot of good work in the spying and reconnoitering line.

    The Dare Boys in Virginia | Stephen Angus Cox
  • It remained in sight some time, and it was evident that the cautious scout was carefully reconnoitering the plain.

    White Otter | Elmer Russell Gregor