briefing
Americannoun
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Military. a short, factual oral summary of the details of a current or projected military operation given to the participants or observers.
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any set of concise instructions or a summary of events.
noun
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a meeting at which detailed information or instructions are given, as for military operations, etc
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the facts presented during such a meeting
Etymology
Origin of briefing
Explanation
If you plan on going to the briefing at the White House, you'd better bring your audio recorder. These informational sessions can get very detailed, and you'll need to review the audio record. When a lawyer appears before a court, they bring with them a "brief," a detailed explanation of their case that's anything but brief. This brief is a sort of briefing for the judge on the details of the case. Whenever you give someone a detailed explanation or set of instructions about something, it's a briefing. Briefing is the noun form of the word brief. The White House press corps meets in the "briefing room" to get briefed on the news of the president's day.
Vocabulary lists containing briefing
State of the Union Address 2016
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This Week In Words: November 28–December 4, 2020
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"The Evolution of a Great Idea"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This is a very large scene that’s involving hundreds of possible witnesses,” a sheriff’s spokesperson told reporters in a televised briefing.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026
For the Sussexes, the only acknowledgement of the business side of the trip came at the bottom of a five-page pre-tour briefing.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
The information is stored in a database that can be queried by U.S. spooks and often goes into the President’s daily intelligence briefing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
His remarks came during a PwC briefing that highlighted a survey on how U.S. business leaders are navigating the second Trump administration.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026
“Yes, sir, all pilots and officers will meet in the briefing room at 1230 hours.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
