1
a
: in a brief way
briefly mentioned
b
: in brief
the food, briefly, was awful
2
: for a short time
briefly married
Synonyms
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
After her firing, Baquet (who had briefly served as the L.A. Times’ executive editor) would become the New York Times’ first Black executive editor.
—
Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2023
Two-year Treasury yields briefly topped 5.15%, ending up 0.069 percentage point to 5.142%.
—WSJ, 27 Sep. 2023
In 2021, an asthma flare-up briefly put Leahy in the hospital hours after being sworn in to oversee Trump's second impeachment trial.
—Graham Underwood, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2023
For the show's 30th season, host Jeff Probst briefly considered casting all-stars before settling on a season of new contestants.
—Steve Helling, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2023
In the video, Sokolov briefly appears on screen, but does not speak.
—Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023
During World War II, the Wienermobile was briefly retired due to gas rationing.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2023
The fire broke out around 2 p.m. and briefly halted traffic along state Route 163, before it was extinguished, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2023
The notice was briefly removed on Thursday before reappearing again, without explanation.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN, 21 Sep. 2023
See More
Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2023
Two-year Treasury yields briefly topped 5.15%, ending up 0.069 percentage point to 5.142%.
—WSJ, 27 Sep. 2023
In 2021, an asthma flare-up briefly put Leahy in the hospital hours after being sworn in to oversee Trump's second impeachment trial.
—Graham Underwood, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2023
For the show's 30th season, host Jeff Probst briefly considered casting all-stars before settling on a season of new contestants.
—Steve Helling, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2023
In the video, Sokolov briefly appears on screen, but does not speak.
—Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023
During World War II, the Wienermobile was briefly retired due to gas rationing.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2023
The fire broke out around 2 p.m. and briefly halted traffic along state Route 163, before it was extinguished, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2023
The notice was briefly removed on Thursday before reappearing again, without explanation.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN, 21 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'briefly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of briefly was
in the 13th century
Dictionary Entries Near briefly
Cite this Entry
“Briefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/briefly. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on briefly
Nglish: Translation of briefly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of briefly for Arabic Speakers
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