attorney general

noun

plural attorneys general or attorney generals

: 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

Uthmeier, whom DeSantis appointed attorney general last year, has also launched a criminal probe against ChatGPT and its parent, OpenAI, and sued social media company Snapchat and gaming platform Roblox. —Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 18 June 2026

As attorney general, DeWine ordered the Ohio prison system to consider alternative lethal injection drugs. —CBS News, 18 June 2026

Officials in Hood County, Texas, for example, rejected a proposal for a six-month moratorium after a state senator urged the Texas attorney general to intervene and prevent the measure. —Rachel Mural, The Conversation, 18 June 2026

The group also said the SJC had not removed a ballot question because of an attorney general’s summary in nearly a century. —State House News Service, Boston Herald, 18 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined above

Video

Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

Kids Definition

attorney general

noun

plural attorneys general or attorney generals

: the chief law officer of a nation or state who represents the government in legal matters

Legal Definition

attorney general

noun

plural attorneys general or attorney generals

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