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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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
The solicitor general, he noted, kept saying that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 denied birthright citizenship to children who were “subject to any foreign power.”
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
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
Gray, the first solicitor general of the province, whose tragic death is related above.
From The Journal of Negro History, Volume 4, 1919 by Various
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.
