briefly

adverb

brief·​ly ˈbrē-flē How to pronounce briefly (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Preparing To Fight Back Against Donald Trump SpaceX Launches Japanese and Texas Lunar Landers to the Moon The rock can be seen briefly in only one frame of the video, indicating its speed, the University of Alberta said. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025 This undated wanted poster, provided by the U.S. Marshals, shows Ian Cleary, of Saratoga, Calif., U.S. U.S. Marshals via AP Cleary appeared relatively calm during the hearing and spoke only briefly to answer questions from the judge. CBS News, 17 Jan. 2025 The Observer spoke briefly to his mother, who lives in Charlotte. Kallie Cox, Charlotte Observer, 17 Jan. 2025 The plan to briefly escape their innie lives is set into motion after Mark’s outie receives the former head of security's key card from an ex-Lumon employee, Reghabi. Skyler Trepel, People.com, 17 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for briefly 

Word History

First Known Use

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of briefly was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near briefly

Cite this Entry

“Briefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/briefly. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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