attorney general
noun
the chief law officer of a country or state and head of its legal department. att. gen.
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attorney general
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Attorney General
Attorney Generalnoun(in the United Kingdom except Scotland) the senior law officer and chief legal counsel of the Crown: a member of the government and of the House of Commons
attorney general
Americannoun
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attorneys general,
plural
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attorney generals
plural
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the chief law officer of a country or state and head of its legal department. att. gen.
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Attorney General, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice: a member of the president's cabinet. Atty. Gen.
Attorney General
1
British
noun
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(in the United Kingdom except Scotland) the senior law officer and chief legal counsel of the Crown: a member of the government and of the House of Commons
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(in the US) the chief law officer and legal adviser to the Administration: head of the Department of Justice and member of the cabinet
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(in Australia and New Zealand) the chief government law officer: a member of Parliament and usually a cabinet minister
attorney general
2
British
noun
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a country's chief law officer and senior legal adviser to its government
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(in the US) the chief law officer and legal adviser of a state government
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(in some states of the US) a public prosecutor
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of attorney general
First recorded in 1575–85
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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:
In a 2025 review of the legislation, the state attorney general found this subsection likely unconstitutional.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
DirecTV donated $3,000 to the Illinois attorney general in September and $3,000 to the Kansas attorney general in December.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Paxton’s pivot to real estate appears to be a way to supplement his salary as attorney general.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
At the time, Keep Florida Clean was chaired by James Uthmeier, then DeSantis’ chief of staff and now Florida’s attorney general.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
By the summer of 1924, Harding’s successor, Calvin Coolidge, had gotten rid of Burns and appointed a new attorney general, Harlan Fiske Stone.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
The Swiss Transportation Safety Board has started an investigation and the Valais Police and the Office of the Attorney General have launched an inquiry.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Jourdane went on to work in the California Office of the Attorney General, as a Superior Court judge in Monterey County and in the California Court of Appeal’s Fourth District, his family said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said on Wednesday that Trump has made clear that "AI dominance is critical" to national security, prosperity and economic mobility.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
In a statement posted on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called the payout “peanuts” compared with the harms driven by its platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The next step, they agreed, was to consult with Attorney General John Mitchell about possible legal action.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
