brief
lasting or taking a short time; of short duration: a brief walk; a brief stay in the country.
using few words; concise; succinct: a brief report on weather conditions.
abrupt or curt.
scanty: a brief bathing suit.
a short and concise statement or written item.
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.
Law.
a writ summoning one to answer to any action.
a memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case.
a written argument submitted to a court.
(in England) the material relevant to a case, delivered by a solicitor to the barrister who tries the case.
an outline, summary, or synopsis, as of a book.
briefs, (used with a plural verb) close-fitting, legless underpants with an elastic waistband.
a briefing.
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.
British Theater. a free ticket; pass.
Obsolete. a letter.
to make an abstract or summary of.
to instruct by a brief or briefing: They brief all the agents before assigning them.
Law. to retain as advocate in a suit.
Idioms about brief
hold a brief for, to support or defend by argument; endorse.
in brief, in a few words; in short: The supervisor outlined in brief the duties of the new assistant.
Origin of brief
1synonym study For brief
Other words for brief
Other words from brief
- briefer, noun
- briefness, noun
- un·brief, adjective
- un·brief·ly, adverb
- un·brief·ness, noun
- un·briefed, adjective
Words Nearby brief
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use brief in a sentence
As they moved down the street, Harris waved, held her hand to her heart, and bumped elbows and had brief conversations with several onlookers.
Election live updates: Trump returns to Wisconsin; Biden to face live audience at town hall | Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner | September 17, 2020 | Washington PostAmazon, meanwhile, set their preorders live late Wednesday around midnight ET, only for consoles to sell out within a similarly brief timeframe.
F5 for PS5: All your PlayStation 5 preorder links in one place | Jeff Dunn | September 17, 2020 | Ars TechnicaFor over a decade, astronomers have puzzled over the origins of fast radio bursts, brief blasts of radio waves that come mostly from distant galaxies.
Neutrinos could reveal how fast radio bursts are launched | Lisa Grossman | September 16, 2020 | Science NewsAfter brief introductions, he told me to follow him, but he went the wrong way.
How to hunt for star-nosed moles (and their holes) | Kenneth Catania | September 15, 2020 | Popular-ScienceI’m most in love with the liner, which feels like a comfy pair of boxer-briefs even when they get wet.
The Gear That Lets Me Enjoy the Last Days of Summer | Graham Averill | September 15, 2020 | Outside Online
In his brief appearance today, Scalise never mentioned Duke.
Before we get to all that, permit me a brief reflection on this matter of Steve Scalise.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game | Michael Tomasky | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTHawking, of course, came to global fame with his book A brief History of Time.
Even when financial facilitators are arrested, incarceration is brief.
Even the brief time spent chewing exposes foods to enzymes that begin to break it down.
‘Rectal Feeding’ Has Nothing to Do with Nutrition, Everything to Do with Torture | Russell Saunders | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTVicars' wives had come and gone, but all had submitted, some after a brief struggle, to old Mrs. Wurzel's sway.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsAs Perker said this, he looked towards the door, with an evident desire to render the leave-taking as brief as possible.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2) | Charles DickensAnd I finished all with a brief historical account of affairs and events in England for about a hundred years past.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan SwiftThe events which succeeded this fortunate capture are too well known to require more than a very brief recapitulation.
In brief, by the close of the year, the phenomenal conditions growing directly out of the European war had been met and overcome.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips
British Dictionary definitions for brief
/ (briːf) /
short in duration: a brief holiday
short in length or extent; scanty: a brief bikini
abrupt in manner; brusque: the professor was brief with me this morning
terse or concise; containing few words: he made a brief statement
a condensed or short statement or written synopsis; abstract
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
RC Church a letter issuing from the Roman court written in modern characters, as contrasted with a papal bull; papal brief
short for briefing
a paper outlining the arguments and information on one side of a debate
British slang a lawyer, esp a barrister
hold a brief for to argue for; champion
in brief in short; to sum up
to prepare or instruct by giving a summary of relevant facts
to make a summary or synopsis of
English law
to instruct (a barrister) by brief
to retain (a barrister) as counsel
(intr foll by against) to supply potentially damaging or negative information regarding somone, as to the media, a politician, etc: See also briefs
Origin of brief
1Derived forms of brief
- briefly, adverb
- briefness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with brief
see hold no brief for; in brief.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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