the chief law officer of a country or state and head of its legal department. att. gen.
Attorney General, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice: a member of the president's cabinet. Atty. Gen.
(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
(in the US) the chief law officer and legal adviser to the Administration: head of the Department of Justice and member of the cabinet
(in Australia and New Zealand) the chief government law officer: a member of Parliament and usually a cabinet minister
a country's chief law officer and senior legal adviser to its government
(in the US) the chief law officer and legal adviser of a state government
(in some states of the US) a public prosecutor
First recorded in 1575–85
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gates, who left the department in November, is now the Republican candidate challenging Bonta to be state attorney general.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
She instead pointed to the state law that requires the secretary of state to “promptly” refer complaints to the attorney general if “there is reasonable cause to suspect that criminal conduct occurred.”
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
The attorney general had then filed to discontinue the case against Koroma and drop the charges, Bah said.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Guest: Harry Litman, former US attorney, former deputy assistant attorney general, host of Talking Feds, the podcast and Substack.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
He told the assistant attorney general that it would be a tremendous loss.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference on Wednesday.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Todd Blanche’s hearing to become US Attorney General has begun.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
ConserveOhio completed the first three steps by April, getting approval from the Ohio Attorney General to move forward with signature collection at the beginning of the month.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Attorney General Peter Neronha calls it “willful, reckless, or wicked, as amounted to criminality.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 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.
