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 Broadway Bridge over the Arkansas River was closed briefly on Saturday evening while police responded to a report of a man who had talked about jumping off it, authorities said. — Rafael Escalera Montoto, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2026

In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, briefly taking people hostage in a two-hour attack that killed one person and wounded two others. — ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026

Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, is briefly referenced in this 2016 profile of the chef, writer, publisher, and television personality by Oliver Strand for Vogue. — Oliver Strand, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2026

Wang founded the firm in 2016 after briefly working for Chinese drone giant DJI. — Yue Wang, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly