momentarily

adverb

mo·​men·​tar·​i·​ly ˌmō-mən-ˈter-ə-lē 

1

: for a moment

2

archaic : instantly

3

: at any moment : in a moment

Synonyms

• shortly
• soon

Examples of momentarily in a Sentence

The wind let up momentarily, allowing us to start a campfire.

He paused momentarily before finishing his speech.

We expect them to arrive momentarily.

Recent Examples on the Web

Piastri even locked up momentarily under braking at Turn 1 in the penultimate lap, but failed to overtake Norris. —Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Aug. 2025

The technical architecture operates on a zero-trust principle, storing all privileged credentials in secure digital vaults and releasing them only momentarily to verified users or systems. —Steve McDowell, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025

The video shows Bryan stare down down someone in the crowd before momentarily continuing to sing. —Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 28 July 2025

Hardened by war and weary from pain and loss, the soldiers’ spirits were momentarily restored and forever bonded together by the great sport of American football. —Katcy Stephan, Variety, 8 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for momentarily

• arbitrarily
• customarily
• militarily
• necessarily
• ordinarily
• secondarily
• temporarily
• voluntarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily

Kids Definition

momentarily

adverb

mo·​men·​tari·​ly

ˌmō-mən-ˈter-ə-lē

1

: for a moment

the pain eased momentarily

2

archaic : instantly

3

: at any moment

we expect them momentarily