brief

American  

[breef] / brif /

adjective

• briefer,
  comparative
• briefest
  superlative

1. lasting or taking a short time; of short duration.

   a brief walk; a brief stay in the country.

   Synonyms:

   transient, ephemeral, transitory, fleeting, short-lived

2. using few words; concise; succinct.

   a brief report on weather conditions.

   Synonyms:

   condensed, pithy, compact, terse

3. abrupt or curt.

4. scanty.

   a brief bathing suit.

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noun

• briefs
  plural

1. a short and concise statement or written item.

   Synonyms:

   abstract, epitome, précis, outline

2. an outline, the form of which is determined by set rules, of all the possible arguments and information on one side of a controversy.

   a debater's brief.

3. Law.

   1. a writ summoning one to answer to any action.

   2. a memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case.

   3. a written argument submitted to a court.

   4. (in England) the material relevant to a case, delivered by a solicitor to the barrister who tries the case.

4. an outline, summary, or synopsis, as of a book.

5. (used with a plural verb) briefs, close-fitting, legless underpants with an elastic waistband.

6. a briefing.

7. Roman Catholic Church. a papal letter less formal than a bull, sealed with the pope's signet ring or stamped with the device borne on this ring.

8. British Theater. a free ticket; pass.

9. Obsolete. a letter.

verb (used with object)

• briefs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• briefed,
  past participle,  past
• briefing
  present participle

1. to make an abstract or summary of.

   Synonyms:

   outline, summarize

2. to instruct by a brief or briefing.

   They brief all the agents before assigning them.

3. Law. to retain as advocate in a suit.

idioms

1. in brief, in a few words; in short.

   The supervisor outlined in brief the duties of the new assistant.

2. hold a brief for, to support or defend by argument; endorse.

brief British  

/ briːf /

adjective

1. short in duration

   a brief holiday

2. short in length or extent; scanty

   a brief bikini

3. abrupt in manner; brusque

   the professor was brief with me this morning

4. terse or concise; containing few words

   he made a brief statement

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noun

1. a condensed or short statement or written synopsis; abstract

2. law a document containing all the facts and points of law of a case by which a solicitor instructs a barrister to represent a client

3. RC Church a letter issuing from the Roman court written in modern characters, as contrasted with a papal bull; papal brief

4. short for briefing

5. a paper outlining the arguments and information on one side of a debate

6. slang a lawyer, esp a barrister

7. to argue for; champion

8. in short; to sum up

verb

1. to prepare or instruct by giving a summary of relevant facts

2. to make a summary or synopsis of

3. English law

   1. to instruct (a barrister) by brief

   2. to retain (a barrister) as counsel

4. to supply potentially damaging or negative information regarding somone, as to the media, a politician, etc See also briefs

brief More Idioms  

1. see hold no brief for; in brief.

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Usage

What does brief mean? Brief is most commonly used as an adjective to mean lasting a short amount of time. As an adjective, it can also mean concise or said in a few words, as in Keep your introduction brief and get right to the point. Less commonly, brief can describe an action or interaction as abrupt or too short, often in a rude way, as in Please don’t be so brief with customers. The adverb form of the adjective brief is briefly, which most commonly means for a short amount of time or concisely. As a noun, the word brief commonly means a short written item. In a legal context, a brief is a short legal document, such as a written argument submitted to a court or some other short statement of facts for use in a legal case. Brief can also be used as a verb meaning to provide a short explanation or summary of something to someone, as in Each cabinet member will brief the president on the most important issues. The noun briefing refers to a meeting at which someone is briefed in this way. Example: The meeting was very brief—it lasted only a few minutes.

Synonym Usage

See short. See summary.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• briefer
  noun
• briefness
  noun
• unbriefness
  noun
• unbrief
  adjective
• unbriefed
  adjective
• briefly
  adverb
• unbriefly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• briefs
  plural

Adjectives

• briefer
  comparative
• briefest
  superlative

Participles

• briefing
  present
• briefed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• brief
  simple
• briefs
  simple
• have briefed
  perfect
• has briefed
  perfect
• am briefing
  progressive
• are briefing
  progressive
• is briefing
  progressive
• have been briefing
  perfect progressive
• has been briefing
  perfect progressive

Past

• briefed
  simple
• had briefed
  perfect
• was briefing
  progressive
• were briefing
  progressive
• had been briefing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will brief
  simple
• will have briefed
  perfect
• will be briefing
  progressive
• will have been briefing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of brief

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bref, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin brevis “short”; see breve

Explanation

Something brief is short and to the point. If you make a brief visit, you don't stay long. If you make a brief statement, you use few words. If you wear brief shorts, you are showing a little too much leg. As a noun, a brief is a condensed summary or abstract, especially a legal summary of a case. Lawyers submit pretrial briefs to the court outlining the witnesses for the prosecution or defense. As a verb, brief means to give essential information to someone — like the President gets briefed on important matters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brief briefs briefer briefest briefed briefing

Seo, who has an intellectual disability, struggles to form long sentences and can only communicate through brief words and gestures.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

But she fell into an uncharacteristic silence after the screenshots were published on Thursday, broken only by a brief comment of "I have complete confidence in Jordan" to La Tribune Dimanche newspaper this weekend.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

It came in a brief and garbled email.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Outside of a brief period in part of 2024 and 2025, the headline PCE has not been below 2.5% since early 2021, let alone 2%.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026

During the brief lull between the late-lunch rush and the early-bird dinner rush, I wait for Jillian outside the bathroom like a stalker.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

“I get regular intelligence briefs about Iran and China all the time, and then this hits, and it’s like, ‘Whoa, OK.’”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

“I believe a plainer worry sits beneath the briefs and the news releases ... The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of Warner’s CNN,” Ellison wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Federal judges have found that the government filed statements generated by artificial intelligence that referenced nonexistent case law, wrote briefs that ignored facts and filed declarations with inaccurate dates, the ProPublica review shows.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

He briefs reporters and does television interviews, but few people would recognize him on the streets of most cities in America.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

Those Pokemon briefs were surprisingly comfortable, and I hadn’t worn briefs since I was in, like, third grade.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

Ex-CIA vice presidential briefer Julia Curlee is lately lauded everywhere for courage in coming out as trans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Those uprisings, later coined the Arab Spring, succeeded in bringing about a short democratic sojourn in Tunisia and a much briefer one in Egypt, but they also unleashed unrest.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

Vaill could have made Pride and Pleasure a briefer book if she had chosen to constrict the male narrative and focus on the sisters alone.

From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2025

The answers have grown into stories, now briefer than before but still mostly complete.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2024

Today, our jet planes have made even the longest intercontinental flights briefer than the duration of any human infectious disease.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

After repeatedly warning of the rivers’ endangerment, however, Mr. Winder concludes with only the briefest summary of the projects currently aimed at guarding against the dire outcomes he foresees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Series creator Christopher Storer conveys this in the briefest, tightest shots of hands lovingly plating food, as well as in panoramic views of the series as a whole.

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

Brandin Podziemski, who scored 19 points in the first half, stole the briefest sliver of momentum by making a running half-court shot to end the second quarter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025

There is the briefest moment of serenity before they do.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2024

There was the briefest silence, filled only by the noise of the sea—and then Nighthand gave a great roar.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Oman would have shared what it knew had it been asked, the people briefed on his background said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

There was no point, people briefed on the discussions say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

One of the older Air Force Ones then appeared to have been called into action when Israel briefed the US about a possible missile threat when Trump was leaving the Ankara summit.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Dozens of officers involved were briefed at a nearby police station before joining a convoy to Daniel's home.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

They believe the ambassador wants to be briefed on the upcoming Aaron Copland tribute.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Jen Psaki, landed her own program on MS NOW in 2023 after two years behind the briefing room lectern for President Biden.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

“The whole system was, in a sense, just boiling — primed and ready to release all of that stored up energy come January 7th,” he said at a Thursday press briefing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The reviewers described the absence of a joint security briefing and walk-through as a missed opportunity to have identified risks, clarified responsibilities and considered additional security measures.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama made the comments at a press briefing in Tokyo on Friday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

In the past, agents had filed reports by phone or telegram, or by briefing a superior in person.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• concise
• fleeting
• momentary
• quick
• short-lived
• swift
• temporary