Definition of "brief" []

Short in time, duration, length, or extent. (adjective)
Succinct; concise: a brief account of the incident. (adjective)
Curt; abrupt. (adjective)
A short, succinct statement. (noun)
A condensation or an abstract of a larger document or series of documents. (noun)
Short in duration (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Short in length or extent; scanty (adjective)
Abrupt in manner; brusque (adjective)
Terse or concise; containing few words (adjective)
A condensed or short statement or written synopsis; abstract (noun)
A document containing all the facts and points of law of a case by which a solicitor instructs a barrister to represent a client (noun)
A letter issuing from the Roman court written in modern characters, as contrasted with a papal bull; papal brief (noun)
A paper outlining the arguments and information on one side of a debate (noun)
A lawyer, esp a barrister (noun)
To prepare or instruct by giving a summary of relevant facts (verb)
To make a summary or synopsis of (verb)
To instruct (a barrister) by brief (verb)
To retain (a barrister) as counsel (verb)
To supply potentially damaging or negative information regarding someone, as to the media, a politician, etc (verb)

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Use "brief" in a sentence

"The brief you will be making now will consist of an _introduction_, which states whatever facts and principles are necessary to an understanding of the brief, and the _brief_ itself, which consists of a series of propositions, each supporting your main contention, and each in turn supported by others, which again may each be supported by another series."
"Secretary Gates used the term brief pause again in his testimony."
"At any rate, without going into that specifically, in February he used the term brief pause."