Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
debrief (v.)
means “to interrogate, receive the report of, to instruct a returning pilot, emissary, or negotiator,” “to find out what he or she learned.” Typically such agents are briefed (that is, given instructions, provided with necessary letters, etc.) just before they depart, and on their return the process is reversed, and those who dispatched them debrief them. The word is Standard, but it has recently picked up some pejorative overtones, which suggest that those being debriefed are also being instructed on what they may say publicly and to the media.
