briefly

  • 1Briefly — Brief ly (br[=e]f l[y^]), adv. Concisely; in few words. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2briefly — index pro tempore Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 3briefly — c.1300, from BRIEF (Cf. brief) (adj.) + LY (Cf. ly) (2). As an introduction to a statement, in short, recorded from 1510s …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4briefly — [[t]bri͟ːfli[/t]] 1) ADV GRADED: ADV with v Something that happens or is done briefly happens or is done for a very short period of time. He smiled briefly... Guerillas captured and briefly held an important provincial capital. 2) ADV GRADED: ADV …

    English dictionary

  • 5briefly — adverb 1. for a short time (Freq. 10) she visited him briefly was briefly associated with IBM • Derived from adjective: ↑brief 2. in a concise manner; in a few words (Freq. 9) the history is summed up concisely in this book …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 6briefly — adverb Date: 14th century 1. a. in a brief way < briefly mentioned > b. in brief < the food, briefly, was awful > 2. for a short time < briefly married > …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 7briefly — /breef lee/, adv. 1. for a short duration: He stopped over briefly in Chicago. 2. in a few words: Let me explain briefly. 3. in a brief manner; quickly or brusquely: She nodded briefly and began to speak. [1250 1300; ME; see BRIEF, LY] * * * …

    Universalium

  • 8briefly — brief|ly W3S2 [ˈbri:fli] adv 1.) for a short time ▪ We stopped off briefly in London on our way to Geneva. 2.) in as few words as possible ▪ Sonia explained briefly what we had to do. [sentence adverb] ▪ Briefly, I think we should accept their&#8230; …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 9briefly — brief|ly [ brifli ] adverb ** 1. ) in a way that does not take much time or give many details: Tell me briefly what your story is about. a ) used when you are about to say something without many details: Briefly, there are three principal&#8230; …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 10briefly — / bri:fli/ adverb 1 for a short time: We stopped off briefly in London on our way to Geneva. 2 in as few words as possible: Sonia explained briefly what we were to do. (sentence adverb): Briefly, I think we should accept their offer …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English