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.
Senate, governor and attorney general — suggest lots of room for movement in the less than 12 weeks remaining until Oct.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
State law requires the secretary to “promptly” refer complaints to the attorney general if “there is reasonable cause to suspect that criminal conduct occurred.”
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Rob Bonta, attorney general of California, which is leading a coalition of 12 states which last week sued to block the deal, welcomed the agreement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
See the number of politicians leaving successful House careers to hunt the attorney general title: Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Jeff Jackson of North Carolina, Chip Roy of Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
February 11: The Seattle General Strike ends when federal troops are summoned by the mayor of Seattle and the state’s attorney general.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador paid tribute to the victims' families, saying they had "already endured unimaginable loss and now must face today's deeply painful news".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Paramount has pushed for a November trial, while California Attorney General Rob Bonta told The Wall Street Journal he favors a January start date.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“There is ‘an expectation that even the Attorney General must be able to draw the line between political allegiance and fidelity to the people, as well as the fair administration of law,’ ” Williams wrote.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 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
"My office is having some difficulty locating Hector Ze- roni's records," the Attorney General said.
From "Holes" by Louis Sachar
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.
