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• solicitor general
  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.
• Solicitor General
  Solicitor General

  noun

  (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

American  

noun

• solicitors general
  plural

1. a law officer who maintains the rights of the state in suits affecting the public interest, next in rank to the attorney general.

2. the chief legal officer in some states.

3. (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.

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Solicitor General British  

noun

1. (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

2. (in New Zealand) the government's chief lawyer: head of the Crown Law Office and prosecutor for the Crown

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• solicitors general
  plural

Etymology

Origin of solicitor general

First recorded in 1525–35

Compare meaning

How does solicitor-general compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• solicitor general vs. attorney general

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

solicitor general Solicitor General

The solicitor general, in the appeal to the Supreme Court, also emphasized the security aspects of the project.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican who served as attorney general for eight years, during which time he hired Murrill as the state’s solicitor general, opposed 10 of 12 compensation claims during his tenure.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

He sat in the gallery while the justices posed steadily skeptical questions to his solicitor general.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

She has been promoted from the Whips Office and is replacing the chancellor's sister, Ellie Reeves, who has become solicitor general.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

The solicitor general and the Chancellor of the Exchequer hopped ashore.

From Attention Saint Patrick by Murray Leinster

The sentence has already been referred to the Court of Appeal as "unduly lenient" by the Solicitor General, Ellie Reeves.

From BBC ● Jul. 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 state’s argument, led by Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart and supported by the United States, leaned hard into that narrowing move.

From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2026

In that brief, Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the government had “determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 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