1
a
: in a brief way
briefly mentioned
b
: in brief
the food, briefly, was awful
2
: for a short time
briefly married
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
Now, able to soar, the bald eagle riding the horse's back spreads its wings and takes off, making the Clydesdale briefly look like a mythical pegasus.
—
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
If extremely dirty, they can be very briefly dunked into cold water and wiped dry.
—Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026
En route to Sundance, the pair briefly stopped in San Francisco, where Choi spent a year of college as an exchange student at UC Berkeley.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 26 Jan. 2026
Empty streets briefly looked cinematic.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for briefly
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Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
If extremely dirty, they can be very briefly dunked into cold water and wiped dry.
—Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026
En route to Sundance, the pair briefly stopped in San Francisco, where Choi spent a year of college as an exchange student at UC Berkeley.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 26 Jan. 2026
Empty streets briefly looked cinematic.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for briefly
Cite this Entry
“Briefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/briefly. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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