Other forms: debriefing, debriefed, debriefs
A debrief is a meeting after an event to review how it went. Hold a debrief, a full debrief, debrief the team.
It began as military and intelligence practice — getting the account out of people while it is fresh — and spread into ordinary working life. The useful ones ask what happened rather than who erred, on the same reasoning as a blameless post-mortem. Note brief, from which it is formed by reversal.
1noundebriefA meeting after an event to review how it went.
“After the mission, the pilots had a debrief to discuss what had gone well and what hadn't.”
2verbquestionTo question somebody about what happened.
“After the rescue, officers debriefed the climbers to find out exactly what had gone wrong.”
debrief is a review meeting.
Proto-Indo-European
*mreǵʰ-
Middle English
bref
English
brief
English, today
debrief
From de- + brief. brief comes from Middle English bref. From Middle English breef, breve, bref, from Old French brief, bref, from Latin brevis (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus (“short, brief”). a doublet of breve and merry.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA