| 释义 |
adjective | verb | noun briefbrief1 /brif/ ●●○ S3 W3 AWL adjective ETYMOLOGYbrief1Origin: 1200-1300 Old French Latin brevis ► be brief I’ll be brief (=say something using very few words) – we’ve made lots of changes. THESAURUStime► short happening or continuing for only a little time: Today’s meeting should be fairly short. I’ve just been living here a short time. ► brief (also quick) short, especially because there is not much time available. Brief sounds more formal than quick: We made a brief visit to the museum. I had a quick meeting with my boss. ► momentary extremely short: There was a momentary silence when Ryan came in the room. ► passing short and not very serious: She hoped his interest in tattoos was just a passing phase. ► short-lived short and not as long as someone wanted or hoped: The ceasefire was short-lived. ► temporary fairly short and not expected to be permanent: I’m sure it’s only a temporary problem. ► cursory done in a very short time, without much attention to details: He gave us a cursory explanation of how the machine worked. ► ephemeral formal staying the same for only a short time: Teenage romances are often ephemeral. 1TIME continuing for a short time: a brief visit Let’s keep the meeting as brief as possible.► see thesaurus at short12SPEECH/LETTER using very few words or including few details: a brief statement to the press I’ll be brief (=say something using very few words) – we’ve made lots of changes.3in brief a)in as few words as possible: In brief, the president plans to cut defense spending and lower taxes. b)with very few details: Here is the news in brief.4be brief with somebody to not say very much to someone in a way that seems impolite5CLOTHES clothes which are brief are short and cover only a small area of your body: a very brief bikini[Origin: 1200–1300 Old French, Latin brevis] adjective | verb | noun briefbrief2 ●○○ AWL verb [transitive] VERB TABLEbrief |
| Present | I, you, we, they | brief | | he, she, it | briefs | | Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | briefed | | Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have briefed | | he, she, it | has briefed | | Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had briefed | | Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will brief | | Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have briefed |
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| Present | I | am briefing | | he, she, it | is briefing | | you, we, they | are briefing | | Past | I, he, she, it | was briefing | | you, we, they | were briefing | | Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been briefing | | he, she, it | has been briefing | | Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been briefing | | Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be briefing | | Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been briefing |
adjective | verb | noun briefbrief3 ●○○ AWL noun ► filed a brief The ACLU filed a brief (=gave one to the court) opposing the decision. ► prepared a brief I’ve prepared a brief on the economic situation in China. 1[countable] law a short spoken or written statement giving facts about a law case: The ACLU filed a brief (=gave one to the court) opposing the decision.2[countable] a short report about something, especially information about something that has happened recently: I’ve prepared a brief on the economic situation in China.3briefs [plural] men’s underwear that fits tightly to the body and covers only the buttocks and sexual organs → boxer shorts |