BRIEFLY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does briefly mean? 

• BRIEFLY (adverb)
  The adverb BRIEFLY has 2 senses:

1. for a short time

2. in a concise manner; in a few words

  Familiarity information: BRIEFLY used as an adverb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BRIEFLY (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

For a short time

Context example:

was briefly associated with IBM

Pertainym:

brief (of short duration or distance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

In a concise manner; in a few words

Synonyms:

briefly; concisely; in brief; in short; shortly

Context example:

to put it shortly

Pertainym:

brief (concise and succinct)

 Context examples 

The investigators determined that the antibody, FluA-20, binds tightly to an area on the globular head of the HA protein that is only very briefly accessible to antibody attack.

(Human antibody reveals hidden vulnerability in influenza virus, National Institutes of Health)

Briefly disabling the SPG can disrupt and reset the headache circuit, breaking a cycle of severe migraines and reducing the need for medication.

(Innovative Treatment Offers Relief to Children with Frequent Migraine Headaches, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The robotic spacecraft briefly turned its gaze away from the ringed beauty of Saturn on April 11, 2014, to observe the distant planet, which is the seventh planet from the sun.

(Cassini spies the ice-giant planet Uranus, NASA)

These violent events can briefly produce enough visible light to outshine entire galaxies consisting of billions of stars.

(NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

I told him briefly, and added that we expected he would recover consciousness after the operation—for a short time, at all events.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Briefly they are these: The Royal Mallows is, as you know, one of the most famous Irish regiments in the British army.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For an hour he marched, as though puzzled, and then, through Karduk's mouth, he said to Negore: How didst thou know the way was clear when thou didst look so briefly upon it?

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Briefly, Watson, I am in the midst of a very remarkable inquiry, and I have hoped to find a clue in the incoherent ramblings of these sots, as I have done before now.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In standard communications networks, devices called repeaters briefly store and re-transmit signals to allow them to travel greater distances.

(Key Tech for Quantum Communications Offered by Implanting Diamonds with Flaws, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

And he briefly narrated what the maid had seen, and showed the broken stick.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)