judge advocate general

American  

noun

Military.

judge advocates general, plural judge advocate generals plural

1. the chief legal officer of an army, navy, or air force.

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judge advocate general British  

noun

1. the civil adviser to the Crown on matters relating to courts martial and on military law generally

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• judge advocate generals
  plural
• judge advocates general
  plural

Etymology

Origin of judge advocate general

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

He is also a veteran who served in the Navy as a judge advocate general.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

“The Coast Guard has teams that are specially trained to come down and take control of vessels like this,” said William Baumgartner, former judge advocate general and chief counsel for the Coast Guard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Starting in the early 1900s, Congress enacted predecessors to Section 12406 that used the term in this way; members of the armed forces, including the Army’s judge advocate general, confirmed this interpretation.

From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025

Navy judge advocate general in Iraq and an assistant professor of law at the U.S.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 20, 2022

Sibley's administration, he acted as judge advocate general of the State.

From Fifty Years In The Northwest With An Introduction And Appendix Containing Reminiscences, Incidents And Notes by Folsom, William Henry Carman