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

• 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

Simmons added that the play would’ve worked in the game except that Stone had to evade a defender, and that caused Jenkins to briefly stop. —Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2025

Continue reading … SHAKEY TRUCE – Israeli soldiers killed in attack as ceasefire with Hamas briefly falters and resumes. —FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2025

Part of why Federline became such a staple doing club appearances and his 2007 Super Bowl commercial was to pay for a lifestyle he was only ever briefly acquainted with. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025

Bronny was drafted by the Lakers in 2024 and briefly teamed up with his father earlier in his rookie season before being sent down to the franchise’s G League development team. —Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly