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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

Nathan Johnson also unseated state Sen. Don Huffines, a Dallas Republican that cycle; Johnson is now running for attorney general, and Huffines for comptroller.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

Two days after the merger was announced, satellite-television provider DirecTV donated $3,000 to the California attorney general.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

The comments, which came during a rare White House Rose Garden appearance by an attorney general, underscore how closely Blanche has aligned himself with the president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Former Vice President Kamala Harris faced the same dilemma when she served as state attorney general, as does Rob Bonta, who currently holds the office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 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

And the Valais Police and the Office of the Attorney General have launched a inquiry.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Jourdane went on to work in the California Office of the Attorney General, as a Superior Court judge in Monterey County and in the California Court of Appeal’s Fourth District, his family said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said on Wednesday that Trump has made clear that "AI dominance is critical" to national security, prosperity and economic mobility.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

In a statement posted on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called the payout “peanuts” compared with the harms driven by its platforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram runs an editorial praising Attorney General Tom Clark, who waived immigration restrictions to give Joey passage.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly