solicitor
Americannoun
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a person who solicits.
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a person whose business it is to solicit business, trade, etc.
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an officer having charge of the legal business of a city, town, etc.
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(in England and Wales) a member of that branch of the legal profession whose services consist of advising clients, representing them before the lower courts, and preparing cases for barristers to try in the higher courts.
noun
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(in Britain) a lawyer who advises clients on matters of law, draws up legal documents, prepares cases for barristers, etc, and who may represent clients in certain courts Compare barrister
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(in the US) an officer responsible for the legal affairs of a town, city, etc
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a person who solicits
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of solicitor
1375–1425; late Middle English solicitour < Anglo-French; Middle French soliciteur. See solicit, -or 2
Explanation
If you get into trouble in England, don't ask for a lawyer. Find a solicitor. England has two levels of attorneys: for big problems, you'll need a barrister, but for your hypothetical legal troubles, a solicitor should do nicely. Some highly placed attorneys in the U.S. are also called solicitors. The lawyer in charge of government cases that come before the Supreme Court is the Solicitor General, and that was Elena Kagan's job before President Barack Obama appointed her to the Supreme Court. Solicitor isn’t always a privileged position. The person who knocks on your door asking you to contribute to some worthy cause is also a solicitor — someone who asks for — or solicits — donations.
Vocabulary lists containing solicitor
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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.
Solicitor Philip Breen, acting on behalf of Love, said that while his client had waived the right to a pre-sentence report, she has expressed both genuine remorse and shame for what she did.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
There was at least some suggestion that the chief justice and Justice Barrett didn’t entirely accept the maximalist position that Solicitor General John Sauer was aiming for.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
I lost that case 7-1 after an argument in which Solicitor General Robert Bork argued against me.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
It's not feasible to have 50 different states coming out with their own determinations, Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris said.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 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.
