brief

Definitions

1. adjective

   Of short duration or happening quickly.

   Examples

   • Her reign was brief but spectacular.
   • Some, how briefe the Life of man / runs his erring pilgrimage, / That the ſtretching of a ſpan, / buckles in his ſumme of age.
2. adjective

   Concise or taking few words.

   Examples

   • His speech of acceptance was brief but moving.
   • The briefe ſtyle is that which expreſſeth much in little.
3. adjective

   Occupying a small distance, area or spatial extent; short.

   Examples

   • Her skirt was extremely brief but doubtless cool.
   • On the beach he always wore a straw hat with a red band and a brief pair of leopard print trunks.
4. adjective

   Rife, common, or prevalent.

5. noun

   A writ summoning one to answer or an official letter or mandate.

6. noun

   A short papal letter.

   Example

   • It was in vain that the bishop published a new papal brief, declaring valid the excommunications which he had issued, and those of the inquisitors to be null, and requiring them to seek absolution from him.
7. noun

   An answer to any action.

   Example

   • A written answer or any other brief shall be submitted to the court while allowing a period necessary for the opponent to make preparations with regard to the matters stated therein.
8. noun

   A memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case.

9. noun

   A position of interest or advocacy.

   Example

   • Mrs. Hope was, we believe, a convert to the Roman Catholic Church, and neither she nor her editor conceals the fact that they hold a brief for the Pope and for Catharine against Henry VIII.
10. noun

    An attorney's legal argument in written form for submission to a court.