surgeon general

noun

plural surgeons general
: the chief medical officer of a branch of the armed services or of a public health service

Examples of surgeon general in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Less than a year into his tenure as HHS secretary, Kennedy’s approach was challenged by six former surgeons general who served under both Republicans and Democrats. Anna Clark, ProPublica, 13 Oct. 2025 The idea is to mimic the surgeon general warnings on cigarettes. Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 13 Oct. 2025 The former surgeon general called it the new epidemic. Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 12 Oct. 2025 In an era marked by a global epidemic of loneliness — so severe that, two years ago, our surgeon general issued a national advisory and countries such as France, Japan and the UK appointed Ministers of Loneliness — Israel’s enduring culture of mutual responsibility stood out. Rchin Bari, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for surgeon general

Word History

First Known Use

1706, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of surgeon general was in 1706

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surgeon general.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surgeon%20general. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

surgeon general

noun
plural surgeons general
: the chief medical officer of a branch of the armed services or of a public health service

Medical Definition

surgeon general

noun
plural surgeons general
: the chief medical officer of a branch of the armed services or of a public health service
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!