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 president and first lady waved goodbye to the royals, and the president spoke briefly, in response to a question about how the meeting went. —Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026

Anyone waiting to learn if they were accepted to a college could briefly have access to their phone. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026

Nick Reiner, the man accused of murdering his parents, beloved director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, briefly appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday as his case inched closer to trial. —Madeline Morrison, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026

Officers briefly chased the suspect through Highland Park, but backed off. —Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly