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 attorneys general of California and Pennsylvania sued the federal government when a draft of this rule was released a year ago, and the federal government won in each case (though both state officials appealed the ruling). — Mattie Quinn, SELF, "Here's What Trump's Final Rules on Birth Control Coverage Mean for You," 13 Nov. 2018 In its current form, if companies fail to adhere to these guidelines, they can be sued by the state attorney general. — Maya Kosoff, The Hive, "America Just Took a Step Toward Adopting Europe’s Strict Internet Privacy Laws," 29 June 2018 The bill would allow the attorney general to levy fines for data breaches, after which consumers could then sue over them. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "California approves privacy rules opposed by ISPs and tech companies," 28 June 2018 The attorney general said Anaya was suspected of laundering money. — latimes.com, "Mexican voters going to the polls in historic elections that have been marred by vote-buying and violence," 1 July 2018 New York's attorney general has sued the Trump Foundation, along with Donald Trump and his children. — Doug Criss, CNN, "5 things for June 15: FBI report, immigration, Trump Foundation, Argentina, teens," 15 June 2018 The Knesset’s legal adviser, Eyal Yinon, and representatives of the attorney general’s office have expressed similar concerns. — Ruth Eglash, Washington Post, "Jewish or democratic? Israel debates its founding principles.," 12 July 2018 There were 1,093 reported hate crimes in California in 2017, a 17.4% increase, according to a report released Monday by the California attorney general’s office. — James Queally, latimes.com, "Hate crimes rise in California for third straight year, state report says," 10 July 2018 The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office officially charged Gainey in May, and the judge ruled Monday that there was enough evidence to proceed to trial. — Claudia Lauer, The Seattle Times, "Nurse to face trial in fatal fall of McMaster’s father," 9 July 2018

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.