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Recon
01
a preliminary investigation or survey to gather information
Slang
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Abstract
Composition
Compound
Uncountable
Plural form
recons
What does "recon" mean in military slang?
The structure is a clipped shortening of "reconnaissance," removing the ending syllables to create a faster, more tactical noun. It is used to describe a preliminary investigation or survey to gather information about enemy positions, terrain, or other strategic details before a mission. Outside of military contexts, it is also used in business, gaming, and everyday conversation to describe any fact finding mission or initial assessment of a situation. The term originated in early 20th century military jargon and became widely used during World War II.
Examples
The team did some recon before entering the building.
Lexical Tree
recon
con
