- present participle of brief.
briefing
Americannoun
-
briefings
plural
-
Military. a short, factual oral summary of the details of a current or projected military operation given to the participants or observers.
-
any set of concise instructions or a summary of events.
noun
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a meeting at which detailed information or instructions are given, as for military operations, etc
-
the facts presented during such a meeting
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of briefing
Explanation
If you plan on going to the briefing at the White House, you'd better bring your audio recorder. These informational sessions can get very detailed, and you'll need to review the audio record. When a lawyer appears before a court, they bring with them a "brief," a detailed explanation of their case that's anything but brief. This brief is a sort of briefing for the judge on the details of the case. Whenever you give someone a detailed explanation or set of instructions about something, it's a briefing. Briefing is the noun form of the word brief. The White House press corps meets in the "briefing room" to get briefed on the news of the president's day.
Vocabulary lists containing briefing
State of the Union Address 2016
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This Week In Words: November 28–December 4, 2020
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"The Evolution of a Great Idea"
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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.
See Examples For:
A foreign ministry spokesman reiterated that message in a press briefing Tuesday, saying economic warfare will only heighten tensions and could disrupt the global economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
"If there is no treatment, and we are not able to act fast, that one million number are at risk of dying," he told a media briefing in Geneva from Kabul.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
One has the tool generate a daily briefing on the overnight markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
She also thinks it's worth briefing the person covering you about anything important before you go: "It helps whoever's emailing you, and it protects your break too."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
‘I didn’t get the briefing, and I’m pretty sure the information wasn’t covered in Frank’s pamphlet. Could you tell me what’s going on here?’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
It said operational briefings were not "routinely shared" with board members.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Leavitt, 28, the youngest ever US presidential top spokesperson, has been a fiercely loyal Trump defender, delivering fluent and aggressive performances at often combative press briefings.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department gave no briefings that weekend but asked members of the media to stay off the Guthrie property.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
He said that Wright had “explained this numerous times in briefings on Capitol Hill.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Zach told him that he had to hold weekly press briefings for reporters from the school newspaper.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
