brisk
Americanadjective
verb (used with or without object)
adjective
-
lively and quick; vigorous
a brisk walk
trade was brisk
-
invigorating or sharp
brisk weather
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of brisk
First recorded in 1580–90; of uncertain origin
Explanation
Brisk is one of those delightful words that sounds like what it means: quick, lively, bracing, and refreshing. There's nothing like a brisk walk in the morning to get the blood flowing and the spirit ready for the day. Anything brisk is happening quickly but not too fast. Probably taken from the French brusque, which also means "quick," but in a more negative way, brisk can be used to describe not only physical actions but also more conceptual notions, such as brisk business around the holidays or brisk interactions at a speed-dating event. The soft-drink called Brisk must be called that for a good reason. Perhaps it picks you up!
Vocabulary lists containing brisk
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"
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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.
See Examples For:
Wealthy buyers who are immune to the challenges of today’s high-interest-rate environment are driving brisk sales of luxury homes.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
The Hill is known for offering brisk, up-to-date reports out of each branch of government in Washington, and is often linked to on other websites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Mostly, though, the film is an ode, a love letter to a much beloved writer, assembled with a brisk and often beautiful collage-like style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Beyond the brisk sales, they’re among the most popular titles in elementary-school libraries, they win Pulitzer Prizes and National Book Awards, and they get adapted into movies and streaming shows.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
“Makes me nervous,” he said, finding the cloth on his desk and giving his glasses a brisk rub.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
While heatwave conditions will continue across many parts of England and Wales through this coming week, a brisker wind means temperatures have dropped a degree or two relative to recent days.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
From time to time I’ll make an exception and settle into a relative page-turner: nothing with cliffhangers or lots of hand-to-hand combat, mind you, but with a brisker narrative pace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
We would be in a better place if the speed had been brisker.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2023
“Fan reaction has been positive to the brisker pace with more action. And players have made a great adjustment to the changes.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2023
One morning there was a different smell in the air, and the ship was moving oddly, with a brisker rocking from side to side instead of the plunging and soaring.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly accelerated in August to the briskest pace since April and firms reported input price pressures eased to the lowest since late 2020.
From Reuters ● Aug. 18, 2022
The planets are putting on an amazing celestial show nightly, and many regions of the country are about to host some of the briskest bird traffic of the year.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2021
Ms. Mearns, never rushed by this, creates marvelous dynamic variety within it, often finding time to phrase with seeming slowness, while rising to its briskest passages as if riding the full power of a wave.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2015
British factories followed Asia's lead, increasing activity at the fastest rate in seven months while creating new jobs in at the briskest pace in more than three years.
From Reuters ● Jul. 1, 2014
The men moved sluggishly about their duties, with no elasticity in their steps; and even Jack and Adair, the briskest of the brisk, felt scarcely able to drag their feet after them.
From The Three Lieutenants by Webb, Archibald
Then we all brisked round an' begun settin' the children up on the cots—two or three to a cot, with one of us to wait on 'em.
From Friendship Village by Gale, Zona
She brisked up with a kittenish purr when disturbed, and remarked that the Hengishire air was like champagne.
From Red Money by Hume, Fergus
He woke up when the march was over and brisked up his moustache.
From Villa Rubein, and other stories by Galsworthy, John
They brisked up when they heard this offer.
From Athelstane Ford by Upward, Allen
‘At any rate, the deadly lively time has brisked you all up,’ said Bertha, laughing.
From That Stick by Yonge, Charlotte Mary
"Such a charming musical evening—such a treat!" said she, brisking up, and quite unaware of what had been passing round her the last two hours.
From Bluebell A Novel by Huddleston, Mrs. George Croft
“He wandered off by himself,” Major Coote answered, brisking up a little.
From Athelstane Ford by Upward, Allen
As I write, the breeze is brisking up, doors are beginning to slam, and shutters; a strong draught sweeps round the balcony; it looks doubtful for to-morrow.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis
She was relieved to see that the oddly assorted men and women about her were brisking up, and beginning to talk, even to laugh, with one another.
From From out the Vasty Deep by Lowndes, Marie Belloc
As I write the breeze is brisking up, doors are beginning to slam: and shutters; a strong draught sweeps round the balcony; it looks doubtful for to-morrow.
From Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson — Volume 2 by Stevenson, Robert Louis
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.
