I. ˈbrēf adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English bref, breve, from Middle French brief, bref, from Latin brevis; akin to Old High German murg short, Greek brachys, Sogdian murzak
1.
a. : not enduring long : markedly limited in duration
a brief interruption
a brief speech
one of the briefest republics in human record — Julian Dana
b. : of limited extent
down across a brief meadow — E.W.Smith
especially : short
a brief paragraph expressing a firm conviction — Margaret E. Hall
a jacket … waist-length in back and briefer in front — Lois Long
consisting of one brief street
2.
a. : concise , succinct
a brief summary of the day's news
some brief remarks on the subject
b. : curt , abrupt
3. dialect , of a communicable illness : extremely common : prevalent
measles are very brief here just now
Synonyms:
brief and short contrast with long. brief usually applies to duration
it was a fleeting visit, all too brief; in three short minutes he had seen them all — W.H.Davies
a mock episode, as brief as a dream — L.P.Smith
fair but mortal youths who paid with their lives for the brief rapture of the love of an immortal goddess — J.G.Frazer
It may suggest conciseness or even curtness
their greetings were brief. “Hi, kid”, Donald said. “Hi, boy”, said Will — Wallace Stegner
short , applying to both duration and extent, may be a close synonym for brief
short and narrow bound from morn to eventide — W.E.Gladstone
It may imply a sudden abrupt shortening or conclusion
a short but exhilarating experience of the power to control lives for good or evil
II. ˈbrēf noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bref, breve, from Middle French bref, brief, from Medieval Latin brevis, breve, from Late Latin, letter, summary, from Latin brevis (masculine & feminine), breve (neuter), adjective, short
1. : a formal or official letter or mandate: as
a. : breve 3 ; especially : brieve
b. dialect England : a statement of the causes of a person's poverty used as a petition : a begging letter
c. : a papal letter that is less formal than a bull and is signed by the secretary of briefs and sealed with the pope's ring
d. obsolete : dispatch 2
e. : a letter patent formerly issued by the English sovereign as head of the established church authorizing a collection to be made in the churches for some specified purpose
2. : a brief written item or document: as
a. : a short usually concise article (as in a newspaper)
local briefs
b. : a short version : synopsis , summary
a brief of a large scholarly tome
c. obsolete : catalog , list
d. : an abridgment or concise statement of a client's case made out for the instruction of counsel in a trial at law — called also trial brief
e. obsolete : memorandum , invoice
f. : abstract of title
3.
a. : a plan or outline of an argument ; especially : a formal outline with logically related headings that sets forth the main contentions with supporting statements or evidence
b. or brief of argument : such a plan in behalf of a client that often has considerable detail dealing with the facts or the law and is presented to a trial or appellate court, an administrative or international tribunal, or to a legislative body
c. : a case at law
4. Scotland : spell , charm
5. : short snug-fitting pants or underpants that usually have elastic at the waist and elastic or ribbing at the slant-cut leg openings and are made in a variety of styles for both men and women — usually used in plural
Synonyms: see abridgment
•
- hold a brief for
- in brief
- make brief of
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: brief (I)
1.
a. : to present in brief or in the form of a brief : make a brief, abstract, or abridgment of
entered a solid, old law firm … received a salary for briefing up cases — T.W.Duncan
brief a report
Miss Sandoz briefed what Cook had said — C.C.Rister
summarized northeastern Siberian archaeology and has briefed many normally unavailable sources — Wendell Oswalt
b. : to compose (a written work) in the form of a brief or abstract
a report briefed from the original notes
2. Britain : to retain as legal counsel
brief a lawyer
3.
a. : to give final precise and informative instructions to (participants before a mission or action)
b. : to indoctrinate (members of the armed forces) in service standards — compare debrief
c. : to coach thoroughly in advance, imparting condensed up-to-the-minute information and explicit directions
instructed him in what to say, in other words, briefed him in the current line of propaganda — Evelyn G. Cruickshanks
thousands of marriages … could be kept intact if young couples were properly briefed beforehand on the chief booby traps in married life — Irish Digest
d. : to give usually essential information to usually concisely
a visitor can hardly set foot inside the border before someone is briefing him on the general sequence of events — Faubion Bowers
IV. adverb
Etymology: brief (I)
obsolete : briefly