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• director general
  director general

  noun

  the executive head of an organization or of a major subdivision, as a branch or agency, of government.
• director-general
  director-general

  noun

  the head of a large organization such as the CBI or BBC

director general

American  

noun

directors general plural

1. the executive head of an organization or of a major subdivision, as a branch or agency, of government.

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director-general British  

noun

1. the head of a large organization such as the CBI or BBC

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• directors general
  plural

Etymology

Origin of director general

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

“There was continued growth in the domestic economy,” said Chris Sibley, assistant director general of the CSO.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director general Jean Kaseya said there were 263 confirmed cases in both countries as of Saturday, with 43 confirmed deaths.

From Barron's • May 31, 2026

The UN's nuclear watchdog said it was monitoring the situation closely and that its director general Rafael Grossi expressed "grave concern" about the incident.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

“When the U.S. launched their attack, they did not take into consideration the GCC’s security concerns,” said Mohammed Baharoon, director general of the Dubai Public Policy Research Center, a private Emirati think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

Perhaps Yi Young-hoon, the director general of the National Museum of Korea, said it best.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler