brief

brief1 [ brif ] adjective ***

1. ) lasting only for a short time:

Idaho experienced a brief period of population growth during the early nineties.

a brief visit

I have a phone call to make. I'll keep it brief.

2. ) using only a few words:

A brief summary of this article is given here.

I don't want to keep you long, so let me be brief.

a ) not saying much, and so seeming to be rude:

She can be a little brief, but don't let that upset you.

3. ) not covering much of your body: SKIMPY

in brief

1. ) using as few words as possible, and without many details:

The plan is to change the radio station's style: in brief, less talk and more music.

2. ) without many details:

I only heard the news in brief.

brief

brief 2 [ brif ] noun count *

1. ) AMERICAN a short written summary or report:

a news brief

2. ) a document giving the facts of a legal case

3. ) BRITISH official instructions to do a job, saying how it should be done:

His brief was to write a book on black holes for the ordinary reader.

We are confident we will meet all the requirements of the design brief.

=> BRIEFS

brief

brief 3 [ brif ] verb transitive FORMAL *

to give someone information about a situation, especially officially:

He asked how many people were briefed about the decision?

brief someone on something: Members of the committee were briefed on the plan last week.