briefly

adverb

brief·​ly ˈbrē-flē 

1

a

: in a brief way

briefly mentioned

b

: in brief

the food, briefly, was awful

2

: for a short time

briefly married

Synonyms of briefly

• concisely
• shortly

Examples of briefly in a Sentence

Several important issues are only briefly mentioned.

Please briefly describe your experience.

We briefly considered canceling the trip.

Recent Examples on the Web

The move comes after the Current paid the Utah Royals $600,000 to acquire Sentnor in a blockbuster move that was briefly an NWSL record for a deal between league teams. —Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 18 June 2026

The film will provide an opportunity for Italians to revisit their fascist past through the unique lens of a non-Italian woman chosen by fate to briefly serve as the country’s last queen. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 17 June 2026

SpaceX shares continued to surge, lifting the company's market cap above that of Amazon and briefly above that of Microsoft. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 17 June 2026

Before the sentence was imposed, Heuermann briefly addressed the court. —Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly