Correct spelling, explanation: brief appeared in Middle English, but it first appeared in Latin, in which it had the form brevis and could be translated as short. Then in the form of brief, it entered Old French and in this version, it finally entered English. The contemporary meaning of brief is quite similar to the original one.

Definition of brief:
1. adjective – refers to something that lasts a short time or has few words only,
There are going to be a few speakers so make sure your speech is brief.
2. adjective – short in length, usually used about clothes,
You can’t wear this dress to school as it is too brief.
3. verb – to provide someone with detailed instructions or information,
The manager has already briefed me about the details of the project.
4. noun – instructions or information about something,
I will send you the brief with all the information.
5. noun – a lawyer who speaks on behalf of someone in a court of law,
My brief told me that I should tell them nothing.

Collocations with brief
Some common collocations include:
1. to keep something brief – to say something without the details,
So many things have happened, but I promise to keep it brief.
2. a detailed brief – instructions or a summary with all the details,
She prepared such a detailed brief that I needed an hour to go through it.
3. be brief – to tell about something with no details,
I need to leave in a few minutes so please be brief.

Incorrect spelling, explanation: brief has a rather simple spelling and pronunciation, but the two vowels in the middle of the word, -i and -e, are often mixed by users of English. As a result, a common mistake is to spell brief as breif, which is wrong so make sure you do not make this mistake.