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• attorney general
  attorney general

  noun

  the chief law officer of a country or state and head of its legal department. att. gen.
• Attorney General
  Attorney General

  noun

  (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

American  

noun

• attorneys general,
  plural
• attorney generals
  plural

1. the chief law officer of a country or state and head of its legal department. att. gen.

2. Attorney General, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice: a member of the president's cabinet. Atty. Gen.

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Attorney General ¹ British  

noun

1. (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

2. (in the US) the chief law officer and legal adviser to the Administration: head of the Department of Justice and member of the cabinet

3. (in Australia and New Zealand) the chief government law officer: a member of Parliament and usually a cabinet minister

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attorney general ² British  

noun

1. a country's chief law officer and senior legal adviser to its government

2. (in the US) the chief law officer and legal adviser of a state government

3. (in some states of the US) a public prosecutor

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• attorney generals
  plural
• attorneys general
  plural

Etymology

Origin of attorney general

First recorded in 1575–85

Compare meaning

How does attorney-general compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• solicitor general vs. attorney general

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attorney general Attorney General

Texas law allows the Department of Public Safety to provide security for key state leaders, including the attorney general, but does not require officials to use it.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

“He had met the professional and security requirements for employment, including holding a pilot’s license, providing a certificate of good conduct and completing the required checks,” the U.A.E. attorney general said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed the state’s attorney general as special prosecutor.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

James, the New York state attorney general, will lead a criminal investigation into the Cornell Seven case after public backlash over the local district attorney declining to pursue charges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

He told the assistant attorney general that it would be a tremendous loss.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Former Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said she never used a security detail during her 12 years in office, which ended in 2024.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said al-Hammami had a “drift toward extremism and terrorism” beginning in 2017 while studying in Australia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

But a government watchdog recently cleared Powell of criminal wrongdoing in a costly Fed renovation project, and US Attorney General Todd Blanche said he would not reopen an investigation.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sent civil investigative demands to the company to collect evidence around potential violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, according to his office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Wolcott was one of only three high-ranking officials of the federal government within a day’s ride of Philadelphia, Attorney General Edmund Randolph and Postmaster General Timothy Pickering being the others.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy