surgeon general
Americannoun
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the chief of medical services in one of the armed forces.
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(initial capital letters) the head of the U.S. Bureau of Public Health or, in some states, of a state health agency.
noun
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(in the British, US, and certain other armies and navies) the senior officer of the medical service
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the head of the public health service in the US
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of surgeon general
First recorded in 1770–80
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.
Social isolation among older adults alone accounts for about $6.7 billion in excess Medicare spending a year, largely due to increased hospital and nursing-facility spending, the former surgeon general said in a report.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
Lurie said that the surgeon general has essentially two formal functions in the government.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2026
“It’s awful how much waste that is,” said Pamela Schweitzer, a pharmacist and former assistant U.S. surgeon general.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025
The primary power of any surgeon general is in being the voice of authority as America’s top doctor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
It was photographed and then the surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Barnes, who had tended to Lincoln in the president’s final hours, performed an autopsy.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
