attorney
Americannoun
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attorneys
plural
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a lawyer; attorney-at-law.
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an attorney-in-fact; agent.
noun
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a person legally appointed or empowered to act for another
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a lawyer qualified to represent clients in legal proceedings
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a solicitor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of attorney
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French attourne literally, “(one who is) turned to,” i.e., “(one who is) appointed,” past participle of attourner “to attorn ”
Explanation
An attorney is a lawyer. Attorneys sue people, defend people, and serve as experts on the law. When there's any kind of legal issue, attorneys will be involved. They're the legal experts with law degrees who are also known as "lawyers." You'll often find them in court, defending clients or trying to put criminals in jail. Attorneys work for businesses, schools, the government, and individuals. So if you get arrested, need to write a will, or have to hash out a binding contract, an attorney is the person to call.
Vocabulary lists containing attorney
Monster
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Occupations
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Flush
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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:
The appeal, first reported by the Athletic, centers on Kay’s contention that his trial attorney, Michael Molfetta, pressured him to turn down a plea offer from prosecutors for a 5-to-10-year sentence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
“People whose property is being stolen from them, if they can’t afford an attorney, that’s too bad. They’re up against these major companies.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Athena’s attorney, Matthew Davis, said she was never abusive and that she called 911 as soon as she cut him down, then spent 10 minutes following a dispatcher’s CPR instructions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Historically, Cruz, the district attorney, has made comments and announcements about the case at press conferences after court finishes.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Comstock, the attorney and guardian, knew Gregg’s father well and provided legal counsel for the family.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Before that, Vintfeld owned child acting and modeling-talent agencies accused by attorneys general in New Jersey and Florida of defrauding hundreds of parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
"This new information has resulted in a significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska, and I have assigned several attorneys in my office to assist in the matter as well."
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Other county attorneys hit a sharper tone in their own responses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Jackson’s attorneys fired back at the claims, insisting that their client had been withholding rent because of a leak in the property that had not been fixed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
She bent her head to write something on the papers in front of her, and attorneys up front started whispering because I guess Digger wasn’t supposed to go on like that.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
