brief

[ breef ]

/ brif /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brief 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.

Nearby words

bridle path, bridle suture, bridlewise, bridoon, brie, briefed, briefcase, briefer, briefing, briefless, brieflessly

Idioms

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

1250–1300; Middle English bref < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin brevis short; see breve

SYNONYMS FOR brief

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

2 terse, compact, pithy, condensed.

5 outline, précis, epitome, abstract. See summary.

14 summarize, outline.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brief ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

brief·er, nounbrief·ness, nounun·brief, adjectiveun·brief·ly, adverb

un·brief·ness, nounun·briefed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for briefed

Republican senators who were briefed on the crisis in Iraq Thursday also were reluctant to support U.S. air strikes in Iraq.
U.S. Aircraft Could Strike Iraq Tomorrow|Eli Lake, Tim Mak|June 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Relatives of passengers and the crew have been briefed on the existence of the unidentified objects.
Australia Spots Two Objects in the Hunt for MH370|Lennox Samuels|March 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The rocket shipment seized on Wednesday, according to an IDF spokesman who briefed reporters, began in Damascus.
Israel Seizes Iranian Rockets—and Pounces on Tehran for ‘Supplying Terrorists’|Eli Lake|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Members of Congress have been briefed on it and on what the administration has been doing under its terms.
The NSA Program and the Law|Michael Tomasky|June 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

That claim soon evaporated as the administration conceded that she had "briefed" Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough and other aides.
The White House and the IRS: A Carteresque Fiasco|Robert Shrum|May 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Because I reassigned them, at the same time I briefed them, and made these other assignments.
Warren Commission (12 of 26): Hearings Vol. XII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
As we studied the pictures and charts, Stimson briefed us on the course of action.
The Image and the Likeness|John Scott Campbell
That outfit had only been on Kwannon for the last two thousand hours, but somebody should have briefed him better than that.
Oomphel in the Sky|Henry Beam Piper
At lunch time it was a question whether another leader should be briefed.
Beatrice|H. Rider Haggard
Soon after he had begun to make his mark he was briefed against the claimant in the famous “Tichborne Case.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for briefed

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 Formsbriefly, 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

Word Origin and History for briefed (1 of 3)

brief

adj.

late 13c., from Latin brevis (adj.) "short, low, little, shallow," from PIE *mregh-wi-, from root *mregh-u- "short" (cf. Greek brakhys "short," Old Church Slavonic bruzeja "shallow places, shoals," Gothic gamaurgjan "to shorten").

Word Origin and History for briefed (1 of 3)

brief

from Latin breve (genitive brevis), noun derivative of adjective brevis (see brief (adj.)) which came to mean "letter, summary," specifically a letter of the pope (less ample and solemn than a bull), and thus came to mean "letter of authority," which yielded the modern, legal sense of "summary of the facts of a case" (1630s).

Word Origin and History for briefed (2 of 3)

brief

"to give instructions or information to," 1866; originally "to instruct by a brief" (1862), from brief (n.). Related: Briefed; briefing.

Idioms and Phrases with briefed

brief

see hold no brief for; in brief.

brief

adjective, brief·er, brief·est.

noun

verb (used with object)

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Idioms

Origin of brief

Examples from the Web for briefed

British Dictionary definitions for briefed

brief

adjective

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for brief

Word Origin and History for briefed (1 of 3)

brief

Word Origin and History for briefed (1 of 3)

brief

Word Origin and History for briefed (2 of 3)

brief

Idioms and Phrases with briefed

brief