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

Brazil’s attorney general last week accused the US of undermining Brazilian democracy — a central theme for incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who holds a razor-thin polling lead over Flávio Bolsonaro. — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026

To double down further, Sony dropped the teaser — intentionally — on the same day Meta settled its child-harm case filed by numerous attorneys general. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

But as part of its settlement of an antitrust lawsuit brought by state attorneys general, Skydance-Paramount agreed to set up an editorial independence board to oversee CNN and CBS News. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026

Hochul appointed the state attorney general last week to take over a criminal investigation that Van Houten had reopened days earlier, and the governor called for an independent review of Cornell’s handling of the matter. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 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