briefing
Americannoun
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Military. a short, factual oral summary of the details of a current or projected military operation given to the participants or observers.
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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
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the facts presented during such a meeting
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.
In a packed White House briefing room, journalists shouted over each other in a bid to get a question from the US secretary of state.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will give a briefing at 8 a.m. on the Iran war.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
But, in talking around the situation as he was peppered by the media in his post-match briefing, he did seem to go slightly further than he has before.
From BBC • May 3, 2026
Axios also reported that Trump is set to receive a briefing Thursday on new options for potential military action.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
The sixteen of us sit in the briefing auditorium of the Department of Supernatural Investigations.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
