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.
Florida’s attorney general says he is examining whether CVS’s PBM steers patients to its own pharmacies.
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
The Wargame - to be aired in September - will also feature Labour's Baroness Harriet Harman as home secretary, Tory Baroness Sayeeda Warsi as attorney general and Labour Baroness Ayesha Hazarika as director of communications.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
Roy, a deputy state attorney general, finished first in the city attorney primary by a wide margin and will compete against John McKinney, a deputy district attorney, in the runoff.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026
Dahlia also speaks with Andrew Weissmann, law professor at New York University and a veteran federal prosecutor, about President Trump’s latest nomination for attorney general and the state of the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
“Layla, please don’t give them an excuse to hurt you. This camp is operating outside the law. The attorney general can’t even control it.”
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
