debrief

verb

de·brief | \ (ˌ)dē-ˈbrēf

debriefed; debriefing; debriefs

Definition of debrief

1 : to interrogate (someone, such as a pilot) usually upon return (as from a mission) in order to obtain useful information The hostages were later debriefed by police.

2 : to carefully review upon completion debrief the flight

intransitive verb

: to be interrogated for useful information following a mission, experience, etc. : to be debriefed After each mission, … the pilots land, disarm and roll into the fuel pit. They spend another hour debriefing with Intelligence …— Maria Wilhelm

Examples of debrief in a Sentence

Police debriefed the hostages upon their return. The pilot was debriefed after his flight.

Recent Examples on the Web

That pilot wasn’t among the crew killed in the Sunday crash of Lion Air 610, so investigators will no doubt be interested in debriefing him, as well as other crew members and passengers aboard the earlier flight. — Barbara S. Peterson, Popular Mechanics, "Lion Air 610 Had the Same Problem Four Flights in a Row Before It Crashed," 5 Nov. 2018 No family members or friends of the three freed Americans were on hand for their arrival Thursday due to protocol reasons, an official told CNN, adding the men had to first debrief intelligence officials before heading to their homes. — Allie Malloy, CNN, "President Trump welcomes 3 Americans freed by North Korea," 10 May 2018 And the fact that Pompeo has debriefed the president, and the president is going forward with this summit meeting, with all the political risks associated with it. — Fox News, "Jonathan Turley: Comey is harming the FBI with tell-all," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'debrief.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.