Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

district attorney

American  

noun

district attorneys plural
  1. an officer who acts as attorney for the people or government within a specified district.


district attorney British  

noun

  1. (in the US) the state prosecuting officer in a specified judicial district

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

district attorney Cultural  
  1. An official responsible for representing the government in court cases and for prosecuting criminals.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of district attorney

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Compare meaning

How does district-attorney compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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:

County district attorney is investigating whether Edison should be criminally prosecuted for its actions in the fire, the company said in an investor filing this year.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 9, 2026

Both Pitchford and Flowers were prosecuted by the same district attorney, Doug Evans, who was repeatedly accused of improperly dismissing Black jurors during his more than 30 years as the chief prosecutor in central Mississippi.

From The Wall Street Journal May 28, 2026

Tim Gruenke, the La Crosse County district attorney, stepped in as special prosecutor, and moved forward with a potential case over one of the procedures.

From The Wall Street Journal May 7, 2026

Chesa Boudin is the former district attorney of San Francisco and the executive director of the Criminal Law & Justice Center at UC Berkeley School of Law.

From Los Angeles Times May 6, 2026

The US district attorney made the opening statement for the prosecution.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training