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.

Han was briefly released in November to undergo eye surgery but has returned to pre-trial custody.

From Barron's

Camite was briefly used as a riot control agent by the American police post-World War One, but was abandoned after safer options such as CS gas were invented.

From BBC

In St. Louis, strike committees, the so-called St. Louis Commune, briefly governed before troops crushed the uprising.

From The Wall Street Journal

Landlords in the area were gouging renters, Koerner said, and he briefly considered living in his car before one of his employees offered a La Crescenta space that had just become available.

From Los Angeles Times

Netflix briefly crashed when the four new episodes were released on Wednesday in the US, and early on Thursday in the UK.

From BBC

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