Brief

Definition: Brief

Brief

Adjective

1. Of short duration or distance; "a brief stay in the country"; "in a little while"; "it's a little way away".

2. Concise and succinct; "covered the matter in a brief statement".

3. (of clothing) very short; "an abbreviated swimsuit"; "a brief bikini".

Noun

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

2. A condensed written summary or abstract.

Verb

1. Give essential information to someone; "The reporters were briefed about the President's plan to invade".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "brief" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Building & Civil Engineering

Law

Military & Defense

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

BRIEF

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Synonyms: Brief

Compendium

Noun: compend, compendium; abstract, precis, epitome, multum in parvo, analysis, pandect, digest, sum and substance, brief, abridgment, summary, apercu, draft, minute, note; excerpt; synopsis, textbook, conspectus, outlines, syllabus, contents, heads, prospectus.

Conciseness

Adverb: concisely; Adjective: briefly, summarily; in brief, in short, in a word, in a few words; for shortness sake; to come to the point, to make a long story short, to cut the matter short, to be brief; it comes to this, the long and the short of it is.

Adjective: concise, brief, short, terse,close; to the point, exact; neat, compact; compressed, condensed, pointed; laconic, curt, pithy, trenchant, summary; pregnant; compendious; (compendium); succinct; elliptical, epigrammatic, quaint, crisp; sententious.

Deputy

Verb: be deputy; Noun: stand for, appear for, hold a brief for, answer for; represent; stand in the shoes of, walk in the shoes of; stand in the stead of.

Description

Noun: description, account, statement, report; expose; (disclosure) specification, particulars; state of facts, summary of facts; brief; (abstract); return; (record); catalogue raisonne; (list); guidebook; (information).

Shortness

Adjective: short, brief, curt; compendious, compact; stubby, scrimp; shorn, stubbed; stumpy, thickset, pug; chunky, decurtate; retrousse; stocky; squab, squabby; squat, dumpy; little; curtailed of its fair proportions; short by; oblate; concise; summary.

Transientness

Brief, quick, brisk, extemporaneous, summary; pressed for time; (haste); sudden, momentary; (instantaneous).

Crosswords: Brief

Afrikaan (letter), Dutch (epistle, letter), Frisian (letter), German (epistle, file, letter).

A very brief cameo (The Great Muppet Caper; writing credit: Jerry Juhl, Tom Patchett, Jack Rose, and Jay Tarses)

A brief shinning moment and then that mouth (Miss Congeniality; writing credit: Marc Lawrence; Katie Ford)

Jill, could you come for a brief scuba in my think tank (Drop the Dead Donkey; writing credit: Andy Hamilton; Guy Jenkin)

For one brief, shining moment the universe finally made sense (Caroline in the City; writing credit: Angela Carneiro)

When was the brief moment (SeaChange; writing credit: Matt Cameron; Elizabeth Coleman)

It was a brief interlude and a midsummer night's fling (I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That); performing artist: Meat Loaf)

Because life is so brief and time is a thief when you're undecided (YOUNG TURKS; performing artist: Rod Stewart)

Math. So as a public service here tonight I thought I would offer a brief (New Math; performing artist: Tom Lehrer)

Brief Encounter (1974)

Driemaal Couteline: Koopjes - De aangetekende brief - Meneer Badin (1972)

One Brief Summer (1969)

Der Brief (1966)

Kriminalmuseum - Der Brief (1965)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Brief History of Everything (reference)

• A Brief History of Time (reference)

• Brief Lives (Sandman, Book 7) (reference)

• Heroes of History: A Brief History of Civilization from Ancient Times to the Dawn of the Modern Age (reference)

• The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Beery Brief Newsletter (reference)

• Bie Industry Brief (reference)

• Brasilinform - Executive News Brief (reference)

• Brief (reference)

• Canada Odp Information Brief (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies

• A Brief History of Time (reference)

• Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection (reference)

• The Pelican Brief (reference)

• Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• A Brief History of the Twentieth Century (reference)

• Answering Machine Music: A Brief Album in Twelve Parts (reference)

• Brief Strop (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech

• EXECUTIVE COMPUTER BRIEF (reference)

• Fellowes Computer Brief (reference)

• SLIM EXPANDABLE COMPUTER BRIEF (reference)

• The Business Traveler's Brief Case Atlas (reference)

  (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Sediment laden runoff floods drainage ditches following a brief storm. Credit: Tim McCabe.

Rill erosion is evident in the unprotected cornfields following a brief storm. Credit: Tim McCabe.

A bowl of berries is a treat for the eye as well as a delight for the palate. But these tasty little morsels happen to be quite tricky to grow, harvest, and handle. These crops tend to have brief growing seasons and are vulnerable to insects, disease, and even birds, so ARS scientists have given them lots of attention. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..

[Smallpox: Brief rule to guide the common people of New England]. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Sepia wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1904, depicting the ship during her brief service as a Confederate cotton-clad gunboat on the lower Mississippi River. Credit: NAVY.

Say, have you seen my brief in the Kuffer case? he demanded triumphantly. Credit: Library of Congress.

Indian riflemen take over Iranian refinery, Iran. A detachment of Indian riflemen march into the world's largest oil refinery on island of Aradian, at the head of the Persian Gulf, after the short, brief battle with the Iranian forces defending it / Acme. Credit: Library of Congress.

Fort Story coast defense. A brief moment for time-out between maneuvers. Fort Story, Virginia. Credit: Library of Congress.

President Warren G. Harding, residence in Marion, Ohio. President's hat, brief case, and cane. Credit: Library of Congress.

Women wearing brief costumes, holding veils, with feathers in her hair. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

A very, very brief time, and you will dismiss the recollection of it, gladly, as an unprofitable dream, from which it happened well that you awoke

Zaphod wondered what to do about all this, and after a brief but hectic internal debate decided that passing out would be the very thing

One brief sigh sufficed to carry off the entire burden of these dismal reminiscences

This brief bill of fare was, however, an exception, reserved for the scholars alone

We must be brief when traitors brave the field

And I finished all with a brief historical account of affairs and events in England for about a hundred years past

then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

The booklet concludes with a brief bibliography. (references)

Some attacks are often so brief that treatment is unnecessary. (references)

What follows is only a brief outline of the use of these drugs as preventive agents. (references)

Business

A brief overview of known projects is provided below. (references)

The law requires 6 to 10 days' advance strike notice, followed by brief government mediation. (references)

There were other incidents in which workers held sanctioned, brief, and orderly demonstrations in the northeast. (references)

Civil Liberties

Yemen

After the shooting, there was a brief spontaneous demonstration. (references)

Jordan

Alawi, Ayyoub, and Zaatreh were released without charge after a brief detention. (references)

Egypt

The Egyptian authorities granted a brief period to allow the dozens of publications that had been licensed in Cyprus to obtain licenses in other countries. (references)

Economic History

Armenia

For a brief period from 1918 to 1920, it was an independent republic. (references)

Togo

In 1914, Togoland was invaded by French and British forces and fell after brief resistance. (references)

Ecuador

In January 1942, Ecuador signed the Rio Protocol to end a brief war with Peru the year before. (references)

Human Rights

Qatar

Shari'a trials usually are brief. (references)

Armenia

After a brief investigation of the claims, the motion was denied by the Prosecutor General's office. (references)

Zimbabwe

Police later arrested two persons implicated in the attack, but they were released after a brief detention without explanation. (references)

Indigenous People

Colombia

The U'wa had filed several court challenges to drilling, and succeeded in winning brief delays before appeal courts ruled in favor of the Government's arrangement with Occidental. (references)

Minorities

Solomon Islands

On June 5, 2000, Malaitan militants took over the capital of Honiara (which is largely populated by Malaitans), forced the Prime Minister to resign, forced Parliament to choose another Prime Minister, and precipitated a brief period of ethnic warfare. (references)

Zimbabwe

During the 1980's, the Shona-dominated Government suppressed what it called a brief Ndebele insurgency with a 5-year pacification campaign that killed an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 Ndebele civilians in Matabeleland, the region in which the Ndebele are concentrated. (references)

Political Economy

JAMAICA

Industrial actions (generally brief strikes) are frequently employed in both private and public sector disputes. (references)

Maldives

In 1953, there was a brief, abortive attempt at a republican form of government, after which the sultanate was reimposed. (references)

Pakistan

The Awami National Party (ANP) is a Pushtun nationalist party in the NWFP. Both parties were allied with the PML-N for brief intervals. (references)

Trade

Qatar

Just before the Organization of Islamic Conference meeting was due to open in November 2000 in Doha, however, in a very brief statement, the GOQ announced that the Israeli Trade Representation Office was officially closed. (references)

Yemen

Brief Description of Banking System: Eleven commercial banks (nine private and two public) and two public sector specialized banks (Agriculture and Housing) operate in Yemen under the oversight of the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY). (references)

Travel

Vietnam

One should brief the interpreter on each meeting in advance. (references)

Women

Fiji

This plan was intended to protect women; however, it was ended after a brief experimental period, following protests from two women's rights groups. (references)

Indonesia

There is no enforcement mechanism for alimony payment, and according to Shari'a, a divorced wife is entitled to only 3 months of alimony, and even alimony for this brief period is not always granted. (references)

Iran

The law allows for the practice of Siqeh, or temporary marriage, a Shi'a custom in which a woman or a girl may become the wife of a married or single Muslim male after a simple and brief religious ceremony. (references)

Worker Rights

Finland

Most strikes were brief and occurred in the industrial sector. (references)

China

Trials are brief and are closed if issues of state security are involved. (references)

Papua New Guinea

These strikes, such as the action against the PNG Banking Corporation, in August were brief and ineffective. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "brief": abandon one's brief ♦ amicus curiae brief ♦ Apostolical brief ♦ be brief ♦ brief and to the point ♦ brief bag ♦ brief but to the point ♦ brief case ♦ brief exposure ♦ brief message ♦ Brief of title ♦ Brief Pain Inventory ♦ Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ♦ brief stay ♦ brief survey ♦ brief text ♦ brief version ♦ brief visit ♦ for a brief moment ♦ give up one's brief ♦ hold a brief for ♦ hold a brief for smb. ♦ in brief ♦ legal brief ♦ make it brief ♦ project brief ♦ sea brief ♦ take a brief ♦ trial brief. Additional references.

Beginning with "brief": brief-case, brief-cases, brief-lived, brief-record.

Ending with "brief": all-too-brief.

Afrikaans

kort (short). (various references)

Albanian

përmbledh (abridge, abstract, collect, compress, condense, precis, recapitulate, sum up, summarize), i shkurtër (curt, fleeting, little, momentary, near, recapitulatory, scrubby, short, stubby, terse, transitory), i përmbledhur (collected, compendious, laconic, succinct, tabloid, terse). (various references)

Arabic 

‏مقتضب (laconic, short, terse), ‏موجز (abridged, briefly, compact, concise, digest, epitomized, laconic, outline, precis, short, summarized, summary), ‏مختصر (abbreviated, abridged, compendious, concise, outline, precis, shortened, summarized, summary), ‏لخص (abridge, abstract, condense, digest, epitomize, recap, recapitulate, sum, summarize), ‏وجيز (flying, terse), ‏طلع (acquaint, ascend, be acquainted with, be updated, climb, go up, hip, inform, introduce, prime, rise, run down), ‏أمر قضائي (bench warrant, judicial writ), ‏أرشد (direct, guide, instruct, lead, lead about, marshal, officer, pilot, streamline, tutor), ‏أبقى (hold, leave over), ‏رسالة (bill, despatch, dispatch, epistle, letter, message, mission, missive, tractate, treatise, writing). (various references)

Bulgarian 

уведомявам подробно, сбит (agglomerate, compact, compendious, concise, epigrammatic, firm, lapidary, open, serried, succinct, summary, terse, thick, tight), рязък (abrupt, acid, bitter, brusque, curt, gravelly, hard, incisive, jarring, jerky, metallic, offhand, pipy, point blank, rapid, rude, sharp, short, short-spoken, shrill, snappish, snappy, snippy, stark, straight out, strident, trenchant), къс (cob, fraction, fragment, fritter, jimp, length, little, morsel, patch, piece, portion, scrimpy, short, skimpy, slip, slipping), кратък (compact, concise, curt, horary, little, near, short, swift, transient, transitory), адвокатско досие, подковавам (horseshoe, nail, prepare, shoe), инструкция, инструктирам (instruct, prime). (various references)

Chinese 

跬 (short step), 短簡 , 綜合報導 (press release, summary report), 簡要 (concise), 簡短 (short-duration), 簡略 (simple), 摘要 (Abstract, briefs, synoptic), 案由 (main points of a case, summary), 小結 (short, summary). (various references)

Czech

struèný (concise, succinct, thumbnail), právní případ, krátký (concise, Cutty, quick, short, stumpy, succinct, thumbnail), instrukce (briefing, direction, directions, instruction, instructions), úseèný (crisp, curt, incisive, offhand, short, short-spoken, succinct). (various references)

Danish

kort (short). (various references)

Dutch

kort (concise, short), kortstondig (momentary, short, short-lived). (various references)

Esperanto

mallonga (short). (various references)

Finnish

suppea (concise, incomplete, succinct, terse, uninformative), lyhyt (short). (various references)

French

court. (various references)

Frisian

koart (short). (various references)

German

kurz (briefly, concise, curtly, in brief, just, momentary, quick, rapid, short, short lived, short term, shortly, squad, stocky, stubby, transient), instruieren (instruct, prime, teach, to instruct), auftrag (application, commission, contract, errand, instruction, job, mandate, mission, order, remit, task). (various references)

Greek 

σύντομοσ (concise, curt, sententious, summary, tabloid), σύντομος (soon, succinct), συνοψίζω (condense, digest, epitomize, sum up, summarise, summarize, tabulate), βραχύσ (short), περίληψη (abridgement, abstract, comprisal, digest, docket, inclusion, precis, prospectus, resume, subsumption, summary, syllabus, synopsis). (various references)

Hebrew 

לידע (inform, let know), לתדרך (instruct), תקציר (abstract, gist, resume, summary, synopsis), תדריך (briefing), קצר (concise, curt, short, shorty, summary, terse). (various references)

Hungarian

rövid (at short notice, compendious, concise, curt, ejaculatory, epigrammatic, flying, halt, mercantile paper, quarrel, short, succinct, to go for a drive, to spell), rövid kivonat (précis, precis). (various references)

Icelandic

skjalataska (brief case, portfolio), skjalamappa (brief case, portfolio). (various references)

Indonesian

sumir (short, succinct), singkat (concise, elliptic), ringkas (compendious, laconic, pithy), laporan (advisory, breakdown, minutes, report), celana dalam (breechcloth). (various references)

Italian

corto (constrictive, limited, little, short), breve (breve, concise, curt, little, short), riassunto (abbreviation, abridgement, abstract, digest, precis, summary), conciso (concise, curt, neat, pithy, short, succinct, tabloid, taut, terse, thumbnail). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

訴状 (complaint, petition), 簡にして要を得た (succinct), ブランド商品 (bleach, bleachers, blizzard, brand items, brand new, breathing, bridge, briefcase, brioche, Brisbane, Britannia, tin plate), 束の間 (brief time, moment, transient), 手短い (short). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ブリーフ , そじょう (complaint, going upstream, on the chopping board, petition, retroact, retrospect), つかのま (brief time, moment, transient), かんにしてようをえた (succinct), てみじかい (short). (various references)

Korean 

적요 (briefs). (various references)

Lombard

cort (garden, short). (various references)

Malay

pendek (short). (various references)

Manx

screeuyn (chitty, document, epistle, inscription, legend, letter, lettering, missive, note, notes, script), mynvreetchyn, giare (abbreviated, abridged, abrupt, brusque, compact, concise, curt, laconic, short, summary, undersized, undersized of persons, undersized of things), gerroil (neighbouring), cuttagh (abrupt, bobbed, cut short, docked, runt, runty, shortened), cur fys da (inform, notify), cumir (compact, concise, tidy). (various references)

Norwegian

kort (short). (various references)

Papiamen

corticu (short). (various references)

Pig Latin

iefbray.(various references)

Polish

krótki (short). (various references)

Portuguese

sumário (abridgement, abstract, briefs, compendium, content, digest, docket, playbill, precis, recess, resume, summary, summery, syllabus, synopsis), curto (curt, direct, short, small, temporary), breve (compact, curt, little, rescript, short, short-lived, snippy, speedy, succinct, summary, telegraphic, temporary, transient). (various references)

Romanian

scurt (briefly, close, curt, short, skimpy, small, snippy, stocky, succinct, summary). (various references)

Russian 

сжатый (cabined, compact, compendious, concise, recapitulatory, short-winded, shrunken, succinct, tabloid, terse, tight), резюме краткий, кратко инструктировать, краткий (compendious, concise, curt, lapidary, recapitulatory, short, short winded, short-form, succinct, terse, thumb-nail), короткий (little, short, small, stubbly). (various references)

Scottish

goirid (short, short; n. short time : bho chionn ghoirid), geàrr (a hare, cut, short, slice), cuimir (concise, handsome, tidy, trim), aithghearr (concise, quick, soon). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

prolazan (caducous, evanescent, fleeting, fly-by-night, fugacious, momentary, negotiable, passable, passing, perishable, pervious, temporary, transient, transitory), obavestiti (advise, fill in, inform, let know, notify, tip off), kratak (curt, laconic, monkey jacket, short, terse, thumb-nail), informisati (communicate, inform), eliptičan (elliptic, elliptical), dati uputstva. (various references)

Spanish

corto (bashful, curt, narrow, scanty, short, skimpy, stumpy, timid). (various references)

Sranan

syatu (short). (various references)

Swahili

-fupi (short), fupi (short). (various references)

Swedish

kortvarig (momentary, non-durable, of short duration, short, short lived, transitory), kort (briefly, card, cards, curt, devil's books, fly-by-night, map, menu, photo, photograph, short, shortly, snapshot, view). (various references)

Tagalog

maiklì (short). (various references)

Thai

โดยย่อ. (various references)

Turkish

bodur (dumpy, dwarf, low, podgy, pudgy, punch, scrub, scrubby, short, shortie, shorty, shrimp, squabby, squat, stocky, stumpy, stunted), belge (card, certificate, deed, document, instrument, letter, muniment, note, paper, present, record, reference, sheepskin, voucher), bücür (dwarf, runt, short, shorty, squat, squirt), talimat veya bilgi vermek, kısa ve öz (laconic, pithy, tabloid, telegraphic, terse), kısa (capsule, compendious, concise, curt, flying, mini, short, stumpy, succinct), evrak (document, letter, paper), dava özeti, avukat tutmak (retain a lawyer), avukat tutma (briefing), özlü (capsule, compact, concise, juicy, laconic, lapidary, loamy, lush, meaty, pithy, pulpy, racy, sappy, sententious, starchy, substantial, succinct, succulent, terse), özetlemek (abridge, abstract, boil down, compress, encapsulate, epitomize, incapsulate, outline, precis, reduce, resume, sum up, summarize, totalize, wrap up), özet (abridgement, abstract, compendium, compress, condensation, conspectus, digest, epitome, extract, gist, outline, precis, resume, roundup, short, sum, summary, summation, synopsis). (various references)

Ukrainian

справа (act, affair, biz, business, case, cause, deed, discipline, employ, enterprise, nevermind, point, proposition, shebang, thing, transaction), різкий (abrupt, acerbic, acrid, acute, argute, bluffy, brusque, curt, harsh, nippy, point blank, raucous, snappish, stark, trenchant, vehement, violent), резюмувати (abstract, epitomize, perorate, recapitulate, resume, sum up, summarize), резюме (abstract, boildown, breviate, capsule, compendium, digest, epitome, recap, recapitulation, resume, summary, synopsis), короткий (compendious, concise, curt, near, recapitulative, recapitulatory, short), клієнт (client, customer, patron), лаконічний (laconic, laconical, neat, pithy, short-spoken), підсумок (amount, output, pouch, result, resume, tally, whole), докладно інформувати. (various references)

Vietnamese 

bản tóm tắt (epitome), vắn tắt (briefly), ngắn (short), gọn. (various references)

Welsh

byr (short). (various references)

Yucatec

koom (narrow, short). (various references)

brevis. (various references)

medmicel. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "brief": briefcase, briefcases, briefed, briefer, briefers, briefest, briefing, briefings, briefless, briefly, briefness, briefnesses, briefs. (additional references)

Words ending with "brief": debrief, overbrief. (additional references)

Words containing "brief": debriefed, debriefing, debriefings, debriefs, unbriefed. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Brief" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Bcie, berief, bief, birf, bpif, Braff, breaf, breeb, breef, Breefe, breev, breeve, bref, Brefi, brei, breif, Breig, brieb, Briefe, briefg, brieft, briefy, brien, brif, brift, brisfit, broaf, bruf, brufen, brye, bryee, Btrieve, Rieff, trief. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: fiber, fibre.

-1 letter: bier, brie, fire, reif, rife.

-2 letters: fer, fib, fie, fir, ire, reb, ref, rei, rib, rif.

-3 letters: be, bi, ef, er, if, re.

+1 letter: briefs, fibber, fibers, fibres.

+2 letters: barefit, beefier, bonfire, briefed, briefer, briefly, buffier, debrief, febrile, fibbers, fibered, filbert, firebox, firebug, freebie, friable, fribble, frisbee, fubsier, verbify.

+3 letters: afebrile, backfire, balefire, barflies, basifier, befinger, befriend, befringe, belfried, belfries, biforate, biforked, biformed, bonfires, briefers, briefest, briefing, bushfire, debriefs, febrific, fiberize, fibranne, fibroses, filberts, fimbriae, fireable, fireback, fireball, firebase, firebird, fireboat, firebomb, firebrat, firebugs, flabbier, forcible, forelimb, freebies, fribbled, fribbler, fribbles, frisbees.