be
I promised to be brief.

keep sth, make sth
Could you make it brief? I''ve got a meeting in ten minutes.

extremely, very | fairly, quite, rather | comparatively, relatively | necessarily
This necessarily brief account concentrates on two main areas.

mercifully
The wait was mercifully brief, little more than an hour.

tantalizingly
The diary entries were tantalizingly brief.

clear, detailed, written | legal, technical

prepare, produce, write

in a/the ~
She makes all these points in her brief.

outside sb''s ~
How the new policy is to be implemented is outside his brief.

~ on
a technical brief on food hygiene

be part of sb''s brief
It''s not part of my brief to advise on financial matters.

fully, properly, well

about
The men have been fully briefed about the intended mission.

on
Each member of my crew took it in turn to brief me on his particular duties.