Synonyms

briefly

American

[breef-lee] / ˈbrif li /

adverb

for a short duration.

He stopped over briefly in Chicago.
in a few words.

Let me explain briefly.
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; 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.

It is understood Liebich briefly tried to evade capture.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

West Texas Intermediate briefly jumped above the key level on Thursday.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

I briefly joined a book club of some work colleagues when I was teaching in rural Illinois, and it was fun, but most of our time was spent gossiping about, well, work.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

While the Hormuz closure briefly gave Chinese exporters an edge thanks to their largely self-sufficient power grid, a prolonged war threatened the global demand for Chinese goods.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Seven briefly debated what to do, but she knew Valley had a few minutes at least; Thorn had almost no time before she would be taken away forever.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023