Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military an medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Australian, Canadian, and British form is recce (pronounced /ˈrɛki/), its American U.S.A. and U.S.M.C. usage form is recon (pronounced /ˈriːkɒn/). The associated, linguistic forms are the verb reconnoitre in British spelling, and reconnoiter in American spelling; informally, recce and recon are used as a verb.