/ briːf; NAmE / adjective , noun , verb
■ adjective ( brief·er , brief·est )
1.
lasting only a short time; short :
a brief visit / meeting / conversation
a brief pause / silence
Mozart's life was brief.
2.
using few words :
a brief description / summary / account
Please be brief (= say what you want to say quickly) .
3.
( of clothes ) short and not covering much of the body :
a brief skirt
—see also brevity , briefly
•
IDIOMS
- in brief
■ noun
—see also briefs
1.
( BrE ) the instructions that a person is given explaining what their job is and what their duties are :
It wasn't part of his brief to speak to the press.
I was given the brief of reorganizing the department.
to stick to your brief (= to only do what you are asked to do)
to prepare / produce a brief for sb
2.
( BrE , law ) a legal case that is given to a lawyer to argue in court; a piece of work for a barrister
3.
( NAmE , law ) a written summary of the facts that support one side of a legal case, that will be presented to a court
4.
( BrE , informal ) a solicitor or a defence lawyer :
I want to see my brief.
•
IDIOMS
- hold no brief for sb/sth
■ verb
1.
brief sb (on / about sth) to give sb information about sth so that they are prepared to deal with it :
[ vn ]
The officer briefed her on what to expect.
I expect to be kept fully briefed at all times.
[also vn to inf ]
—compare debrief
2.
[ vn , vn to inf ] ( BrE , law ) to give a lawyer, especially a barrister , the main facts of a legal case so that it can be argued in court
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French brief , from Latin brevis short. The noun is via late Latin breve note, dispatch, hence an official letter .