briefly
Americanadverb
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for a short duration.
He stopped over briefly in Chicago.
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in a few words.
Let me explain briefly.
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in a brief manner; quickly or brusquely.
She nodded briefly and began to speak.
Usage
What does briefly mean? Briefly means for a short amount of time. It can also mean concisely or in a few words, as opposed to in a longer manner, as in State your main argument briefly in a sentence or two. Briefly is the adverb form of the adjective brief, which most commonly means lasting a short time or concise. Because it’s an adverb, briefly is used to describe verbs (actions), as in I briefly considered it, or adjectives, as in The conversation was briefly tense, but then everyone started to get along. Example: It rained briefly, probably only for a few minutes.
Etymology
Origin of briefly
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at brief, -ly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They spoke briefly to other officers at the scene before leaving, with some hugging each other as they walked away.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
I actually met briefly with the person who took it over there for a while.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
Those techniques were behind the “DeepSeek shock” in January 2025, when Liang’s company released a powerful but inexpensive new open-source model and U.S. stocks briefly swooned at the unexpected rise of Chinese competition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
A military review is underway after news reporters and two members of the military were briefly detained at gunpoint at Vandenberg Space Force Base Monday, even though they were invited to the facility, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Boo smiled back, ever so briefly; she approved of her name, and the others were content in knowing their circle of friends had grown by one.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
