brief

[ breef ]

/ brif /

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See synonyms for: brief / briefed / briefer / briefing on Thesaurus.com

adjective, brief·er, brief·est.

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.

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR brief

1 short-lived, fleeting, transitory, ephemeral, transient.

2 terse, compact, pithy, condensed.

5 outline, précis, epitome, abstract.

14 summarize, outline.

See synonyms for brief on Thesaurus.com

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IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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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

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

synonym study for brief

1. See short. 5. See summary.

OTHER WORDS FROM brief

briefer, nounbriefness, nounun·brief, adjectiveun·brief·ly, adverb

un·brief·ness, nounun·briefed, adjective

Words nearby brief

bridle path, bridle suture, bridlewise, bridoon, Brie, brief, briefcase, briefing, briefless, briefly, briefs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

MORE ABOUT BRIEF

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.

Where does brief come from?

The first records of the word brief come from the 1200s. It ultimately comes from the Latin brevis, meaning “short.”

Whether it’s used as an adjective, a noun, or a verb, the word brief always involves things that are short in length or duration. When you tell someone to “keep it brief,” you’re asking them to not take too long—often because there’s not a lot of time. But there’s no set amount of time that makes something brief—it just means appropriately short for the situation. When someone says “I’ll be brief” before speaking, they may have a different idea of what brief means than you do.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to brief?

briefly (adverb)
briefness (noun)
briefer (noun)

What are some synonyms for brief?

What are some words that share a root or word element with brief?

briefing

What are some words that often get used in discussing brief?

How is brief used in real life?

Brief is a very common word and one of the briefest ways to say, “lasting a short amount of time.”

Barr asks for a brief recess in the hearing. Five minutes.

— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) July 28, 2020

I got to have a little chat with @mollywood of @Marketplace this morning about our brand new emotional support resource for gaming communities. Be sure to follow @GamesHotline for more info and take a listen to our brief conversation: https://t.co/mXdkviI1AS

— Anita Sarkeesian (@anitasarkeesian) August 3, 2020

Tonight, 2 of 3 candidates were finally given an opportunity to talk abt climate change & clean energy, but it was far too brief. #DemDebate

— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) January 18, 2016

Try using brief!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of brief?

A. short
B. concise
C. succinct
D. lengthy

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 Post
Amazon, 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 Technica
For 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 News
After 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-Science

I’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.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Hawking, of course, came to global fame with his book A Brief History of Time.
Why Can’t Movies Capture Genius?|Clive Irving|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even when financial facilitators are arrested, incarceration is brief.
U.S. Ally Qatar Shelters Jihadi Moneymen|Jamie Dettmer|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Vicars' 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 Wills
As 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 Dickens
And I finished all with a brief historical account of affairs and events in England for about a hundred years past.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
The events which succeeded this fortunate capture are too well known to require more than a very brief recapitulation.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
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

brief

/ (briːf) /

adjective

short in durationa brief holiday

short in length or extent; scantya brief bikini

abrupt in manner; brusquethe professor was brief with me this morning

terse or concise; containing few wordshe made a brief statement

noun

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

verb (tr)

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, etcSee also briefs

Derived forms of brief

briefly, adverbbriefness, noun

Word Origin for brief

C14: from Old French bref, from Latin brevis; related to Greek brakhus

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

brief

see hold no brief for; in brief.

brief

OTHER WORDS FOR brief

Idioms about brief

Origin of brief

synonym study for brief

OTHER WORDS FROM brief

Words nearby brief

MORE ABOUT BRIEF

What does brief mean?

Where does brief come from?

Did you know ... ?

How is brief used in real life?

Try using brief!

Words related to brief

How to use brief in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for brief

Derived forms of brief

Word Origin for brief

Other Idioms and Phrases with brief