attorney general

noun

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Definition of attorney general

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

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Recent Examples of attorney general from the Web

The transformation The change in Kennedy came with his controversial appointment as attorney general in the administration of his brother at a time of great tumult in race relations.

— ross baker, Smithsonian, "Why Robert Kennedy Transformed From a Conservative Into a Liberal Champion of Civil Rights," 5 June 2018
In January, over 20 attorneys general sued the commission before the order was even published.

— makena kelly, The Verge, "California Senate votes to restore net neutrality," 30 May 2018
Santiago's mental health history, along with a stint in the Iraq War, played a significant factor in the attorney general's decision on whether to seek the death penalty.

— jay weaver, miamiherald, "Fort Lauderdale airport shooter pleads guilty after being judged mentally 'competent' | Miami Herald," 23 May 2018
The attorney general's office removed a reference in the caption to banning the transfer of the firearms and high-capacity magazines.

— hillary borrud, OregonLive.com, "Oregon attorney general issues ballot title for initiative to ban sales of assault weapons," 23 May 2018
Consumers then filed hundreds of complaints with the state Department of Consumer Protection, state attorney general's office and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

— stephen singer, courant.com, "Frontier Customers Blast Company After Unexplained, Widespread Internet Outage," 22 May 2018
The attorney general's office and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan would not comment on whether Freidman had agreed to cooperate in any investigation.

— NBC News, "Michael Cohen's business partner agrees to cooperate with the government," 22 May 2018
In separate interviews, the Ingrams confessed to downloading and saving child pornography, according to a news release from the attorney general's office.

— domingo ramirez jr., star-telegram, "Texas father arrested one day, next day his son - both accused of having child porn | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 17 May 2018
The school reported allegations against 18 former staffers and shared its findings with the attorney general's office.

— CBS News, "Former student files sex abuse lawsuit against St. Paul's School," 14 May 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.

First Known Use of attorney general

1585

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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