brief

[breef]

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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.

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

Related formsbrief·er, nounbrief·ness, nounun·brief, adjectiveun·brief·ly, adverbun·brief·ness, nounun·briefed, adjective

Synonyms for brief

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brief ON THESAURUS.COM

1. short-lived, fleeting, transitory, ephemeral, transient. See short. 2. terse, compact, pithy, condensed. 5. outline, précis, epitome, abstract. See summary. 14. summarize, outline.

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

Related Words for briefed

prepare, explain, apprise, update, inform, instruct, advise, prime, edify, abridge, recapitulate, initiate, epitomize, summarize, orient, enlighten

Examples from the Web for briefed

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of briefed

They had not been well "briefed," as lawyers say, or they had not mastered their instructions.
Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume I.
Charles James Lever
They briefed me on where I should take you, so there'd be good food ready.
Victory
Lester del Rey
During his transmigration he had been briefed for the trouble on Deneb IV.
A Place in the Sun
C.H. Thames
I was still a new Exec, and the book said I must be briefed on my duties.
A Question of Courage
Jesse Franklin Bone
I talked with him while Cooms and Fluel were around, but he may have been briefed on what to say.
Lion Loose
James H. Schmitz

British Dictionary definitions for briefed

brief

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

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").

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).

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.