Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

major general

American  

noun

  1. a military officer ranking next below a lieutenant general and next above a brigadier general.


major general British  

noun

  1. military an officer immediately junior to a lieutenant general

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of major general

First recorded in 1635–45

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:

In the private sector, larger firms such as Kanematsu, a major general trading company, are hiring savvy graduates such as Uta Yamaguchi who joined in April.

From BBC Aug. 12, 2026

“The big systems need to be fixed, and he is doing that,” John Ferrari, a retired Army major general and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said of Feinberg.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 16, 2026

Guest: Steven J. Lepper, retired Air Force major general and former deputy legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

From Slate Dec. 2, 2025

Mr. Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian army, is a senior military fellow at the Lowy Institute.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 30, 2025

Having achieved the rank of major general, Garfield resigned his U.S.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training