Basic+ Word of the Day: brief

brief (adjective, noun, verb) past tense: briefed

Briefs

Brief means ‘lasting a short time.’

• There will be a brief intermission during the performance.
• Eleanor took a brief vacation last month.

Brief also means ‘a short statement or written item including the most important facts.’

• The lawyer prepared her brief for the judge.
• Tony presented a brief to the committee.

Brief can also mean ‘to instruct someone with the relevant information.’

• The manager briefed her replacement on the open projects.

Common uses

Briefs, always in the plural, are underwear, either for men or women.

Did you know?

In advertising, a creative brief is a document developed by a customer defining audience, message, objectives, etc. Read more about it by clicking here.

In pop culture

The late physicist, Stephen Hawking, wrote A Brief History of Time, a popular science book on cosmology. Watch this brief video, based on the book, that explains black holes. No experience is necessary!

There are other meanings of brief.