reconnaissance
n.the act of going to a place to get information, usually about an enemy or a new area. You use this when you need to check a situation before taking action.
n.the process of obtaining information about the activities and resources of an enemy or potential enemy, or the physical characteristics of a particular area. Often involves preliminary surveying or research before a larger operation.
“The team did some reconnaissance before starting the project.”
“The scouts performed a quick reconnaissance of the valley to ensure no obstacles blocked the path for the main group.”
“Satellite reconnaissance provides high-resolution imagery that allows analysts to monitor infrastructure developments without the need for physical presence in restricted territories.”
Often used in military or technical contexts; frequently appears in the shortened informal form 'recon'.
Reconnaissance is typically paired with the verbs 'do', 'perform', or 'carry out', and takes the preposition 'on' or 'of'.
“It also showed Bowie taking cellphone pictures outside the state capitol, allegedly as part of a “reconnaissance” operation.”
“Prosecutors say she visited the building at least five times on reconnaissance missions ahead of the attack.”
Borrowed from French reconnaissance (“recognition”). Doublet of recognizance.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.