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

• compactly
• concisely
• crisply
• curtly
• elliptically
• laconically
• pithily
• shortly
• succinctly
• summarily
• tersely

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 Nasdaq Composite slid deeper into correction territory, or more than 10% lower than recent highs, and the S&P 500 briefly did, as well. —Jacob Pramuk, CNBC, 17 Mar. 2025

While in Ramona, the group stopped briefly at the corner of Main and 6th streets, where Marodi’s mother, Lorena Marodi, spoke briefly with them and onlookers were able to take photographs and video. —Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2025

Some may even be fireballs, aka meteors that are briefly capable of outshining even Venus as the brightest objects in the night sky. —Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 17 Mar. 2025

Twice, briefly, he was joined by former Crescent Valley teacher Howe, on his own surf trips down to Oceanside. —Luca Evans, The Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly