reconnoiter

verb

variants or reconnoitre
Definition of reconnoiternext
as in to explore
to go to (a place or area) in order to find out information especially about a military enemy; to do a reconnaissance of (a place) An expedition reconnoitered the coast to find out the exact location of enemy forces.

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of reconnoiter Some drones drop bombs, some serve as missiles, while others reconnoiter. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026 How Drones Challenge Snipers Unmanned Aircraft Systems, including fiber optic drones, can reconnoiter vast stretches of territory and can use a wide variety of sensors to perform surveillance. — Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2026 What kind of action plan is visualized to reconnoiter that object? — Leonard David, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2025 The paddlers quickly pulled off to the right bank, secured the canoes and set up camp, while a scouting party hacked their way through the brush to reconnoiter. — Larry Rohter, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2023 Beginning in late 2026, Hera will reconnoiter both Dimorphos and Didymos to take measurements of the rocks and show how DART changed the system. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Mar. 2023 Along the way the spacecraft will scrutinize Saturn’s mysterious and spectacular rings and reconnoiter its many satellite worlds, especially Titan — the largest moon in the solar system and, it is believed, the only one with its own atmosphere. — Alex Orlando, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reconnoiter
  1. explore
  2. scout
Verb
  • Mice on semaglutide explored more, balanced longer on a rotating rod, ran farther on a treadmill and solved a maze faster—gains that held even after the researchers accounted for the animals just being leaner than their peers.
    — Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Art requires some neutrality to find its voice, but a building dedicated to the exploration of narrative shouldn’t stop exploring just when its storytelling begins.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of explore
Verb
  • Conor Hogan, a smokejumper and Forstag’s best friend, took the summer off to work on the campaign, helping organize events and scouting a tree for Forstag to cut down, for a political ad.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The company has previously used LinkedIn to scout potential matches for its clients.
    — Sarah Glodek, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of scout

Browse Nearby Words

reconnects
reconnoiter
reconnoitered
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Cite this Entry

“Reconnoiter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reconnoiter. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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