solicitor general
noun
a law officer who maintains the rights of the state in suits affecting the public interest, next in rank to the attorney general.
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solicitor general
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Solicitor General
Solicitor Generalnoun(in Britain) the law officer of the Crown ranking next to the Attorney General (in Scotland to the Lord Advocate) and acting as his assistant
solicitor general
Americannoun
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solicitors general
plural
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a law officer who maintains the rights of the state in suits affecting the public interest, next in rank to the attorney general.
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the chief legal officer in some states.
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(initial capital letters) the law officer of the U.S. government next below the Attorney General, having charge of appeals, as to the Supreme Court.
Solicitor General
British
noun
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(in Britain) the law officer of the Crown ranking next to the Attorney General (in Scotland to the Lord Advocate) and acting as his assistant
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(in New Zealand) the government's chief lawyer: head of the Crown Law Office and prosecutor for the Crown
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of solicitor general
First recorded in 1525–35
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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:
He previously was the solicitor general of Arkansas and a lawyer at Walmart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The solicitor general, in the appeal to the Supreme Court, also emphasized the security aspects of the project.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Abbott, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, and Cruz, a former state solicitor general, also discussed the recent U.S.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Eric Feigin, a deputy solicitor general, said the government probably could not obtain a search warrant for all storage units or hotel rooms, but a Google search is different because it is a software filter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
Unfortunately, the attorney general had to absent himself about that time, and the matter being left with the solicitor general, nothing was done.
From The Squatter and the Don by C. Loyal
That’s the argument posed in a filing by Solicitor General John Sauer prior to Friday’s order.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Solicitor General John Sauer, in the appeal to the Supreme Court, also stressed the security aspects of the project and argued that the president has the authority to make changes to the White House.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court the project is already 65% complete and argued that stopping construction would interfere with security improvements at the White House.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Solicitor General John Sauer, who argued the case for the White House, told the court in January that the social media post provided sufficient notice and opportunity to respond.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
The justices gave little indication of which way they were leaning, though Justice Thurgood Marshall offered a clue in an exchange with Solicitor General Erwin Griswold, who was handling the government’s case.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
