in brief

brief  (brf)

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.

n.

1. A short, succinct statement.

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

3. Law

a. A formal outline listing main contentions along with supporting evidence and documentation.

b. A document containing all the facts and points of law pertinent to a specific case, filed by an attorney before arguing the case in court.

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

5. A briefing.

6. briefs Short, tight-fitting underpants.

tr.v. briefed, brief·ing, briefs

1. To summarize.

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

Idiom:

in brief

In short.

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[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.]

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briefer n.

briefly adv.

briefness n.

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

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