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
The family briefly lived in Burr Oak, Iowa, before Charles decided to move them to the Dakota Territory.
—
Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 2 Dec. 2025
During the summer, several other acts of political violence briefly seized public attention.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Birdy briefly appeared to play a teenage version of Will and Jonathan's mom.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Dec. 2025
Herbert, after leaving the game briefly with an injured finger, threw a red zone interception.
—Daniel Popper, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for briefly
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Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 2 Dec. 2025
During the summer, several other acts of political violence briefly seized public attention.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Birdy briefly appeared to play a teenage version of Will and Jonathan's mom.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Dec. 2025
Herbert, after leaving the game briefly with an injured finger, threw a red zone interception.
—Daniel Popper, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for briefly
Cite this Entry
“Briefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/briefly. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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