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:
Paxton’s pivot to real estate appears to be a way to supplement his salary as attorney general.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Haden was a veteran prosecutor who held several leadership roles during his career, including that of first assistant attorney general for the Southern District, which is the second-in-command role.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Justice Department, working for then-attorney general and deputy attorney general Janet Reno and Merrick Garland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Sinaloa attorney general resigned at Rocha’s suggestion and federal prosecutors took over the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Eliot Spitzer, attorney general of New York, was holding a power breakfast back near the polished granite counter.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
The case eventually came to light and it resulted in a fulsome public apology delivered to Parliament by the Attorney General in 2018.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 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
It also criticized the office of then-Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody for failing to exercise sufficient oversight of the settlement.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office for failing to comply with a law limiting ICE partnerships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Attorney General Robert Kennedy had given Southern theater owners an ultimatum: desegregate voluntarily—now—or the federal government would do it for them.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
