briefly
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brief
(brēf)adj. brief·er, brief·est
1. Short in time, duration, length, or extent.
2. Succinct; concise: a brief account of the incident.
3. Curt; abrupt: We were upset because he was so brief with us.
n.
1. A short, succinct statement.
2. A condensation or an abstract of a larger document or series of documents.
3. Law A document concisely stating the legal points being made, including often the citation and explanation of supporting legal authority.
4. Roman Catholic Church A papal letter that is not as formal as a bull.
5. A briefing.
6. often briefs Short, tight-fitting underpants.
7. briefs Chiefly British The instructions that are given to explain a task or assignment.
tr.v. briefed, brief·ing, briefs
Idiom: 1. To give instructions or preparatory information to: briefed the astronauts before the mission.
2. To summarize.
in brief
In short.
[Middle English bref, from Old French, from Latin brevis. N., Middle English bref, written communication, from Old French, from Medieval Latin breve, from Latin, neuter of brevis, short; see mregh-u- in Indo-European roots.]
brief′er n.
brief′ly adv.
brief′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
short
– shortly – briefly1. 'short'
Short is an adjective. You usually use it to say that something does not last for a long time.
Let's take a short break.
She made a short speech.
2. 'shortly'
Shortly is an adverb. If something is going to happen shortly, it is going to happen soon. This is a slightly old-fashioned use.
They should be returning shortly.
If something happened shortly after something else, it happened soon after it.
She died shortly afterwards.
Very shortly after I started my job, I got promoted.
3. 'briefly'
Don't use 'shortly' to say that something lasts or is done for a short time. Don't say, for example, 'She told them shortly what had happened'. Use briefly.
She told them briefly what had happened.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Adv. | 1. | briefly - for a short time; "she visited him briefly"; "was briefly associated with IBM" |
| 2. | briefly - in a concise manner; in a few words; "the history is summed up concisely in this book"; "she replied briefly"; "briefly, we have a problem"; "to put it shortly" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
briefly
adverb
1. quickly, shortly, precisely, casually, temporarily, abruptly, hastily, briskly, momentarily, hurriedly, curtly, summarily, fleetingly, cursorily He smiled briefly.
2. in outline, in brief, in passing, in a nutshell, concisely, in a few words There are four alternatives; they are described briefly below.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
باخْتِصارلـَحْظَةً
krátcestručně
i korthedkortkortfattet
lyhyesti
kratko
í stuttu máli
簡単に
간단히
stručne
na kratko
kortfattat
อย่างสั้น
kısacaözetle
một cách ngắn gọn
briefly
[ˈbriːflɪ] ADV1. (= for short time) [speak, reply, smile, pause] → brevemente
she visited us briefly → nos hizo una breve or corta visita
"good morning," he said, looking up briefly → "buenos días," dijo, levantando la vista fugazmente
I wondered briefly if he were lying → por un momento me pregunté si no estaría mintiendo
he was briefly detained by the police → la policía lo tuvo detenido durante un corto espacio de tiempo
she visited us briefly → nos hizo una breve or corta visita
"good morning," he said, looking up briefly → "buenos días," dijo, levantando la vista fugazmente
I wondered briefly if he were lying → por un momento me pregunté si no estaría mintiendo
he was briefly detained by the police → la policía lo tuvo detenido durante un corto espacio de tiempo
2. (= in brief) [tell, reply, describe] → en pocas palabras, en resumen
the facts, briefly, are these → los hechos, en pocas palabras or en resumen, son éstos
briefly, we still don't know → en resumen or en suma, aún no lo sabemos
the facts, briefly, are these → los hechos, en pocas palabras or en resumen, son éstos
briefly, we still don't know → en resumen or en suma, aún no lo sabemos
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
briefly
[ˈbriːfli] adv [speak] → brièvement
[live, work, appear, hold] → pendant peu de temps
[visit] → en coup de vent
to glimpse briefly → entrevoir
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
briefly
adv → kurz
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
brief
(briːf) adjective not long; short. a brief visit; a brief account.
noun a short statement of facts (especially in a lawsuit, of a client's case). a lawyer's brief.
verb to give detailed instructions to (especially a barrister, group of soldiers etc). The astronauts were briefed before the space mission.
ˈbriefing noun instructions and information. The pilots were given a briefing before they left.
ˈbriefly adverbHe told me briefly what he knew.
briefs noun plural (used especially in shops) women's pants or men's underpants. a pair of briefs.
brevity (ˈbrevəti) noun shortness (of speech, writing, time etc). He is well known for the brevity of his speeches.
ˈbriefcase noun a light case for papers, made of leather etc. a businessman's briefcase.
in brief in a few words. In brief, we have been successful.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
briefly
→ لـَحْظَةً krátce kort kurz εν συντομία brevemente lyhyesti brièvement kratko brevemente 簡単に 간단히 even kort krótko brevemente коротко kortfattat อย่างสั้น kısaca một cách ngắn gọn 简要地Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009