Link Centre Dictionary

brief

UK/ˈbɹiːf/ US/ˈbɹʷɪi̯f/ common slang uk
adjective (3) noun (2) verb (1)

adjective

1.

of short duration or distance

  • “a brief stay in the country”
  • “in a little while”
  • “it”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

concise and succinct

  • “covered the matter in a brief statement”
Similar
3.

(of clothing) very short

  • “an abbreviated swimsuit”
  • “a brief bikini”
Synonyms
Similar

noun

1.

a document stating the facts and points of law of a client''s case

Synonyms
2.

a condensed written summary or abstract

verb

1.

give essential information to someone

  • “The reporters were briefed about the President”

Origin

From Middle English breef, breve, bref, from Old French brief, bref, from Latin brevis (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus (“short, brief”).

Phrases

  • brief against
  • control brief
  • faggot brief
  • in brief
  • king's brief
  • racing briefs
  • sea brief
  • swim brief
  • watching brief

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.