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:
If the proposition passes, the state attorney general will be responsible for determining what services fall into that category.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek, who is also the attorney general, told journalists he had requested the lifting of the immunity enjoyed by Swieczkowski and his deputy Bartlomiej Sochanski.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Judge Furman acknowledged that Congress had granted the attorney general the power to remove prosecutors like Comey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
The state's attorney general found the policeman was justified in using force, and the officer's lawyer argued in a statement to the BBC that the driver was attempting to kill law enforcement.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Oklahoma’s attorney general said, “Too much credit cannot be given these gentlemen.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
The criminal case follows a civil suit filed by Utah Attorney General Derek Brown on October 20, in which his office estimated Kalshi had collected $30.6 million to $61.2 million in fees from Utah users.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
The justice department said in court filings that the decision was made by former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Attorney General Todd Blanche dropped by “Jesse Watters Primetime” on his first day on the job, almost certainly expecting a friendly interview.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
The university hired former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates to lead a review of how the school responds to sexual assault cases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Ehrlichman explained that Attorney General Mitchell kept calling, asking permission to tell the Times to immediately halt publication of the Pentagon Papers—and threaten prosecution if they refused.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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