Library / English Dictionary

BRIEF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A condensed written summary or abstract

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("brief" is a kind of...):

abstract; outline; precis; synopsis (a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory)

Derivation:

brief (give essential information to someone)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

brief; legal brief

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("brief" is a kind of...):

instrument; legal document; legal instrument; official document ((law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "brief"):

amicus curiae brief (a brief presented by someone interested in influencing the outcome of a lawsuit but who is not a party to it)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Concise and succinct

Example:

covered the matter in a brief statement

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

concise (expressing much in few words)

Derivation:

brevity (the use of brief expressions)

briefness (the attribute of being brief or fleeting)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of clothing) very short

Example:

a brief bikini

Synonyms:

abbreviated; brief

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

short ((primarily spatial sense) having little length or lacking in length)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Of short duration or distance

Example:

a brief stay in the country

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

short (primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration)

Derivation:

brevity (the attribute of being brief or fleeting)

briefness (the temporal property of being very short)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give essential information to someone

Example:

The reporters were briefed about the President's plan to invade

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "brief" is one way to...):

apprise; apprize; instruct (make aware of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

brief (a condensed written summary or abstract)

briefing (detailed instructions, as for a military operation)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) On the diagram, shade in the areas where you feel pain.

(BPI - Areas of Pain, NCI Thesaurus)

Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) On the diagram, put an X on the area that hurts the most.

(BPI - Area Hurts Most, NCI Thesaurus)

Ceres' Type III features may involve a brief melting of some of the ice within the soil-like regolith, causing the material to flow like mud before refreezing.

(Landslides on Ceres Reflect Ice Content, NASA)

A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge developed the Empathy Quotient (EQ), a brief self-report measure of empathy.

(Study finds that genes play a role in empathy, University of Cambridge)

They were accompanied by a brief letter to the effect that the syndicate was overstocked, and that some months would elapse before it would be in the market again for manuscripts.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

She gave him a brief reply.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

I shall be brief, and yet exact, in the little which remains for me to tell.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The summons was a brief and urgent one.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Back then, the TCM thrusters were used in a more continuous firing mode; they had never been used in the brief bursts necessary to orient the spacecraft.

(Voyager 1 Fires Up Thrusters After 37 Years, NASA)

In my opinion they are made for brief communication.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)