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brief
[breef]
adjective
lasting or taking a short time; of short duration.
a brief walk; a brief stay in the country.
Synonyms: , , , ,using few words; concise; succinct.
a brief report on weather conditions.
Synonyms: , , ,abrupt or curt.
scanty.
a brief bathing suit.
noun
a short and concise statement or written item.
Synonyms: , , ,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.
(used with a plural verb)briefs, 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.
Synonyms: ,to instruct by a brief or briefing.
They brief all the agents before assigning them.
Law.to retain as advocate in a suit.
brief
/ ː /
adjective
short in duration
a brief holiday
short in length or extent; scanty
a brief bikini
abrupt in manner; brusque
the professor was brief with me this morning
terse or concise; containing few words
he 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
slanga lawyer, esp a barrister
to argue for; champion
in short; to sum up
verb
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
to supply potentially damaging or negative information regarding somone, as to the media, a politician, etc See also briefs
Other 51Թ Forms
- briefer noun
- briefness noun
- unbrief adjective
- unbriefly adverb
- unbriefness noun
- unbriefed adjective
- ˈڲԱ noun
- ˈڱ adverb
51Թ History and Origins
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of brief1
Idioms and Phrases
in brief, in a few words; in short.
The supervisor outlined in brief the duties of the new assistant.
hold a brief for, to support or defend by argument; endorse.
Example Sentences
Their brief hello turns into a moment to recall everything that has gone wrong, and just how quickly it all went to sh*t.
“The 4th Amendment as well as governing immigration regulations do not permit immigration agents to detain somebody against their will, even for a very brief time, absent reasonable suspicion,” he said.
For months, officials had set the stage for mass deportations in White House media briefings, X posts and Fox News hits.
Incidents over the days have included a brief blocking of the 101 Freeway, viral images of a Waymo vehicle on fire and incidents of vandalism and theft at businesses downtown, including in Little Tokyo.
“Nobody has rejected anything. They are just doing their analysis,” Emanuel told The Times in a brief interview.
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When To Use
Brief is most commonly used as an adjective to mean lasting a short amount of time.As an adjective, it can also mean concise or said in a few words, as in Keep your introduction brief and get right to the point. Less commonly, brief can describe an action or interaction as abrupt or too short, often in a rude way, as in Please don’t be so brief with customers. The adverb form of the adjective brief is briefly, which most commonly means for a short amount of time or concisely.As a noun, the word brief commonly means a short written item. In a legal context, a brief is a short legal document, such as a written argument submitted to a court or some other short statement of facts for use in a legal case.Brief can also be used as a verb meaning to provide a short explanation or summary of something to someone, as in Each cabinet member will brief the president on the most important issues. The noun briefing refers to a meeting at which someone is briefed in this way.Example: The meeting was very brief—it lasted only a few minutes.
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.
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