a law officer who maintains the rights of the state in suits affecting the public interest, next in rank to the attorney general.
the chief legal officer in some states.
(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.
(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
(in New Zealand) the government's chief lawyer: head of the Crown Law Office and prosecutor for the Crown
First recorded in 1525–35
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He also pushed Sauer to say whether his rule would deny birthright citizenship to all Native people, which the solicitor general could not answer definitively.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026
The former justice secretary also previously served as Welsh secretary, prisons and probation minister and solicitor general.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
He joined the FTC as a minority commissioner in 2024, after serving as Virginia’s solicitor general.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
Trump’s solicitor general, D. John Sauer, previously served as Missouri’s solicitor general under state attorneys general Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026
The very next year he was made solicitor general of the western part of Georgia, so finely had he succeeded in his profession.
From Presidential Candidates: containing Sketches, Biographical, Personal and Political, of Prominent Candidates for the Presidency in 1860 by Bartlett, D. W.
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.
