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

Copper Mountain Ski Resort Loveland and Copper Mountain are the latest ski areas in Colorado to kick off their 2026-2027 season, joining A-Basin, Keystone and, briefly, Wolf Creek. — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026

This season is now like all the others under Todd Bowles and Adam Gase and Saleh and, if only briefly, Ulbrich. — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026

The victim's son, Patrick Malone, spoke briefly to media after the execution. — Kim Chandler, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026

Nathan Fielder and Vera Wang chatted briefly as the crowd waiting to enter Alice Tully Hall grew, while Julia Fox and other beautiful downtown and Brooklyn nightlife fixtures fanned out around the auditorium. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly