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Brief   /brif/   Listen
adjective
Brief  adj.  
1.
Short in duration. "How brief the life of man."
2.
Concise; terse; succinct. "The brief style is that which expresseth much in little."
3.
Rife; common; prevalent. (Prov. Eng.)
In brief. See under Brief, n.
Synonyms: Short; concise; succinct; summary; compendious; condensed; terse; curt; transitory; short-lived.


noun
Brief  n.  
1.
A short concise writing or letter; a statement in few words. "Bear this sealed brief, With winged hastle, to the lord marshal." "And she told me In a sweet, verbal brief."
2.
An epitome. "Each woman is a brief of womankind."
3.
(Law) An abridgment or concise statement of a client's case, made out for the instruction of counsel in a trial at law. This word is applied also to a statement of the heads or points of a law argument. "It was not without some reference to it that I perused many a brief." Note: In England, the brief is prepared by the attorney; in the United States, counsel generally make up their own briefs.
4.
(Law) A writ; a breve. See Breve, n., 2.
5.
(Scots Law) A writ issuing from the chancery, directed to any judge ordinary, commanding and authorizing that judge to call a jury to inquire into the case, and upon their verdict to pronounce sentence.
6.
A letter patent, from proper authority, authorizing a collection or charitable contribution of money in churches, for any public or private purpose. (Eng.)
7.
pl. A type of men's underpants without legs, fitting tightly and held by an elastic waistband; also called Jockey shorts.
Apostolical brief, a letter of the pope written on fine parchment in modern characters, subscribed by the secretary of briefs, dated "a die Nativitatis," i. e., "from the day of the Nativity," and sealed with the ring of the fisherman. It differs from a bull, in its parchment, written character, date, and seal. See Bull.
Brief of title, an abstract or abridgment of all the deeds and other papers constituting the chain of title to any real estate.
In brief, in a few words; in short; briefly. "Open the matter in brief."


verb
Brief  v. t.  To make an abstract or abridgment of; to shorten; as, to brief pleadings.


adverb
Brief  adv.  
1.
Briefly. (Obs. or Poetic) "Adam, faltering long, thus answered brief."
2.
Soon; quickly. (Obs.)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Brief" Quotes from Famous Books



... to the history and literature of King Alfred's day, and are sufficient to give the student a first-hand, though brief, acquaintance with the native style and idiom of Early West Saxon prose in its golden age. Most of the words and constructions contained in them will be already familiar to the student through their intentional employment ...
— Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book - with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary • C. Alphonso Smith
... part of the State is famous. The first step taken by the young lawyer after his arrival fixed his destiny. He was assigned by the court to defend a man charged with murder—a capital chance for winning distinction in a frontier town. Myron Holley, however, instead of confining himself to his brief and his precedents, began by visiting the jail and interviewing the prisoner. He became satisfied of his guilt. The next morning he came into court, resigned the case, and never after made any attempt ...
— Captains of Industry - or, Men of Business Who Did Something Besides Making Money • James Parton
... and mayst reap the benefit of them; finding that pared off thereby which hindereth the bubblings of the everlasting springs, and maketh unfit for the breaking forth and enjoyment of the pure power! This is the brief salutation of my dear love to thee, which desireth thy strength and settlement in the power, and the utter weakening of thee as to self. My dear love is to thee, with dear Thomas Goodyare and ...
— The History of Thomas Ellwood Written by Himself • Thomas Ellwood
... a fleet of three ships, and after three years and nine months returned to England, his fleet reduced to one vessel, but with L500,000 of Spanish treasure on board. Anson's "Voyage Round the World" contains a highly interesting account of this, "written in brief, perspicuous terms," witnesses Carlyle, "a real poem in its kind, or romance all fact; one of the pleasantest little books in the world's library at this ...
— The Nuttall Encyclopaedia - Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge • Edited by Rev. James Wood
... natural level, and from this height they pour with destructive violence over the face of the country. Such was the case in the great floods of Moray, which happened in the year 1829, of which the following is a brief abstract, derived chiefly from Sir Thomas Dick Lauder's interesting volume on this subject, published soon after the calamity for ...
— The Rain Cloud - or, An Account of the Nature, Properties, Dangers and Uses of Rain • Anonymous


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