in brief
Related to in brief: briefly
in brief
In summary; to say it briefly. The film was, in brief, dull. If you can, please explain it in brief.
See also: brief
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
in brief
briefly; concisely. The whole story, in brief, is that Bob failed algebra because he did not study. Please tell me in brief why you want this job.
See also: brief
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
in brief
Also, in short; in a word. Concisely, in few words, to sum up. All three phrases usually precede or follow a summary statement, as in In brief, we didn't get much out of his speech, or There was no agenda; in short, they could discuss whatever they wanted to, or The sun was shining, the sky was clear-in a word, it was a beautiful day. The first expression dates from the early 1400s; in short dates from the 1300s but the present usage dates from the 1700s; the hyperbolic in a word (since there is nearly always more than one word) dates from the late 1500s.
See also: brief
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
in brief
COMMON If someone says or writes something in brief, they use as few words as possible and do not give many details. This in brief is how I see the situation at the moment. The disease is discussed in brief here.
See also: brief
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
in ˈbrief
in a few words: I won’t give a you a long history of the dispute; in brief, it led to the business closing. And now, the news in brief.See also: brief
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
in brief
In short.
See also: brief
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
- blue-light special
- in (just) a second
- in a second
- hold no brief for, to
- half a minute, tick, second, etc.
- half a second
- half a tick
- half a minute
- give someone (the) rundown
- brief (one) on (someone or something)