Showing results for "briefing"

• present participle of brief.

briefing

American  

[bree-fing] / ˈbri fɪŋ /

noun

briefings plural

1. Military. a short, factual oral summary of the details of a current or projected military operation given to the participants or observers.

2. any set of concise instructions or a summary of events.

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briefing British  

/ ˈbriːfɪŋ /

noun

1. a meeting at which detailed information or instructions are given, as for military operations, etc

2. the facts presented during such a meeting

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• briefings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of briefing

First recorded in 1860–65; brief + -ing ¹

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

briefing briefings

In a July 2 press briefing, he said, “We have received no information. No updates. If there has been any direct outreach I am unaware of it. I don’t want to speculate about anybody’s health.”

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

"It was great. They got screwed with that red card," Rubio told reporters during a brief appearance in the White House briefing room when asked how the co-hosts were doing in the tournament.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

What helped yields retreat on Wednesday was Warsh’s mention of falling inflation expectations in the wake of his first press briefing at the helm of the central bank in June.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

“We must stop careless behavior,” he said in one briefing this month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Almost two hundred tired, gaunt, downcast men stood holding their parachute packs in a somber and unstirring crowd outside the briefing room, their faces staring blankly in different angles of stunned dejection.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

As White House correspondent for CBS News, Reid was known for asking tough questions of Trump during his White House briefings on the coronavirus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Burnham is set to receive briefings from civil servants on taking over as prime minister, as part of Sir Keir's promise to ensure "orderly" transition of power.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., both said they had learned in classified briefings that the boats being targeted aren’t necessarily carrying drugs or weapons.

From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026

At press briefings he grows increasingly somnolent when asked to address any topic that isn’t the supersized neoclassical ballroom currently under construction atop the rubble of the White House East Wing.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

My interview with Sir John Balliol had to be in the debriefing room—I suppose they do briefings there as well as debriefings, but that’s what everybody calls it.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• conference
• discussion
• information
• instruction
• meeting
• update