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 doctor’s attorney, Philip Kent Cohen, did not immediately have a comment when reached by The Times on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
"This is a complete misunderstanding, Your Honour. My client was trying to get a picture of Ms Clancy," Light's attorney Jennifer White said in court.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Edelson, the attorney, has said the victims’ families are asking for OpenAI to turn over the logs of Van Rootselaar’s interactions with ChatGPT.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
If my trust remains unfunded, who pays the expenses of administering my estate/trust, such as attorney fees, cremation, and other costs?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
“I need you to make me your attorney of record before Mr. Stubbs gets to the seventh floor and checks for himself.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
I’m a 72-year-old widow living in a small town in Nevada with limited access to attorneys.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Parents and state attorneys general have not waited for policy makers to act.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
"Whether she will seek a further suspension remains a matter for discussion among her attorneys in consideration of her health conditions," the church spokesman told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
After Paramount suffered a bruising July hearing in its fight with a coalition of state attorneys general trying to block its $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The trooper had come to see one of the seven county attorneys, a guy named Tony C. Baird.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions 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.
