briefcase
Americannoun
-
briefcases
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of briefcase
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How does briefcase compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Prior to the 2000s, when the Fed communicated much less about the potential path of rates, investors resorted to extreme measures such as assessing the size of Alan Greenspan’s briefcase when he entered meetings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Whitehouse added: "Bye bye Ted old friend. He wasn't a dog; he was a species all of his own. He's gone to the great briefcase emporium in the sky. We will really miss you mate."
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
He carried a script he was writing in a slim briefcase, which he’d shuttle back and forth from the brand-new Starbucks down the street.
From Salon ● Nov. 23, 2025
“As soon as I saw the story, I tried to push it down into my briefcase and hide it,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
Ames stored these in plastic bags, which he put inside his briefcase.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
If the contestant pushed his or her luck then the following rounds opened more briefcases until only two unopened ones remained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
He opened briefcases and huge chests with bundles of cash.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
There’s a moment in the movie where you have one of those metal briefcases and you start banging it against the wall over and over until it finally breaks open.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
By now employees with briefcases, obviously managers, had arrived for the day, and her excuses were wearing thin.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
I didn't even know people still carried briefcases, but I figured since he still was, there must've been some pretty important papers in it.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
