attorney general

noun

plural attorneys general or attorney generals

Definition of attorney general

: the chief law officer of a nation or state who represents the government in litigation and serves as its principal legal adviser

Examples of attorney general in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The lawyers detailed their position to top officials including Jeffrey A. Rosen, the deputy attorney general, who ultimately rejected their view. — Adam Goldman, New York Times, "Justice Dept. Rejects Andrew McCabe’s Bid to Avoid Charges," 12 Sep. 2019 Pennsylvania's attorney general, another settlement opponent, sued some members of the Sackler family Thursday over their role in the opioid crisis. — Julie Carr Smyth, chicagotribune.com, "Here’s what’s at stake in Purdue Pharma opioid talks," 12 Sep. 2019 But some attorneys general, like Tong, who have sued Purdue and its controlling family, the Sacklers, in state courts, are still opposed to a deal. — Josh Kovner, courant.com, "Purdue Pharma reaches tentative settlement in federal lawsuit and some state cases, but not with Connecticut," 11 Sep. 2019 Andy Taggart, a Republican running for Mississippi attorney general, took part in a skit 1979 Mississippi College skit where other students wore blackface. — Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, "Kay Ivey just the latest southern governor ensnared in racial scandal," 29 Aug. 2019 Kamala Harris During her term as California’s attorney general, her office sentenced two men to 300 days in jail for selling 800 bootleg CDs to undercover agents. — Steve Knopper, Billboard, "How Bernie, Biden, Kamala and Warren Stack Up on Industry Issues," 22 Aug. 2019 Mary McCord, a former acting assistant attorney general for national security, is legal director of Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. — Mary B. Mccord, Twin Cities, "Mary B. McCord: White nationalist killers are terrorists. We should fight them like terrorists.," 13 Aug. 2019 Maddox previously served as Tallahassee mayor and has been a Democratic candidate for attorney general, governor and agriculture commissioner. — orlandosentinel.com, "DeSantis strips Scott Maddox of his Tallahassee commission seat," 9 Aug. 2019 At the Justice Department, which is also on its third leader of the Trump era, there’s no nominee at all for the department’s No. 3 role, associate attorney general, which has been vacant since February. — Garrett M. Graff, WIRED, "Trump’s Intel Vacancies Put Americans in Danger," 9 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'attorney general.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.