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

Early in the second quarter, the Sun were dealt major blow when Nelson-Ododa went down with an apparent lower right leg injury, briefly leaving rookie Raegan Beers — with three fouls — as the team’s only available center. —Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026

The Cubs cut down Kim at the plate to keep it a one-run game, at least briefly. —Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026

After excusing herself briefly from the conversation, Patricia returns to find the other guests whispering to Shelby about Patricia’s history of dishonesty about almost being a Boogeyman victim. —Jen Chaney, Vulture, 13 May 2026

The jail briefly had no hot water on May 6, but the issue was solved in about an hour-and-a-half, sheriff’s office spokesperson Bradley Smith said. —Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly