brief

(brēf)

adj. brief·er, brief·est

1. Short in time, duration, length, or extent.

2. Succinct; concise: a brief account of the incident.

3. Curt; abrupt: We were upset because he was so brief with us.

1. A short, succinct statement.

2. A condensation or an abstract of a larger document or series of documents.

3. Law A document concisely stating the legal points being made, including often the citation and explanation of supporting legal authority.

4. Roman Catholic Church A papal letter that is not as formal as a bull.

5. A briefing.

6. often briefs Short, tight-fitting underpants.

7. briefs Chiefly British The instructions that are given to explain a task or assignment.

tr.v. briefed, brief·ing, briefs

1. To give instructions or preparatory information to: briefed the astronauts before the mission.

2. To summarize.

Idiom:

in brief

In short.

[Middle English bref, from Old French, from Latin brevis. N., Middle English bref, written communication, from Old French, from Medieval Latin breve, from Latin, neuter of brevis, short; see mregh-u- in Indo-European roots.]

brief′er n.

brief′ly adv.

brief′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.

in brief - in a concise manner; in a few words; "the history is summed up concisely in this book"; "she replied briefly"; "briefly, we have a problem"; "to put it shortly"

concisely, in short, briefly, shortly

Translations

بالأخْتِصار

ve stručnosti

kort fortaltkort sagt

kurz gesagt

bref en bref en résumé

í stuttu máli, í einu orîi sagt

in breve

kort sagt

kısacaözet olarak

简言之

brief

(briːf) adjective

not long; short. a brief visit; a brief account.

noun

a short statement of facts (especially in a lawsuit, of a client's case). a lawyer's brief.

verb

to give detailed instructions to (especially a barrister, group of soldiers etc). The astronauts were briefed before the space mission.

ˈbriefing noun

instructions and information. The pilots were given a briefing before they left.

ˈbriefly adverb

He told me briefly what he knew.

briefs noun plural

(used especially in shops) women's pants or men's underpants. a pair of briefs.

brevity (ˈbrevəti) noun

shortness (of speech, writing, time etc). He is well known for the brevity of his speeches.

ˈbriefcase noun

a light case for papers, made of leather etc. a businessman's briefcase.

in brief

in a few words. In brief, we have been successful.