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Glite Dictionary
United States Attorney General

United States Attorney General

1 5.5
The top lawyer in the United States government who leads the Department of Justice and enforces federal law
  • noun
  • /juˈnaɪtɪd steɪts əˈtɜrni ˈdʒɛnərəl/
translation icon : Fiscal General de los Estados Unidos
  • CIPA also allows the United States Attorney General to file an affidavit declaring that the disclosure of the classified information "would cause identifiable damage" to national security; if requested, the trial court may examine the affidavit in camera and ex parte.
  • the United States Attorney General's office

Then we have William Barr, United States Attorney General, who's also being sued.

Examples

  • In 1982, the Miami City Commission unanimously approved a resolution calling upon the United States Attorney General to require that the Brigada register as a "foreign agent of the government of Cuba."

    Academic text (1998)

  • "as United States Attorney General...

    All the President's Men (1976)

  • 1st United States Attorney General and 2nd United States Secretary of State under Washington. Governor of Virginia.

    Blog text (4)

  • Then we have William Barr, United States Attorney General, who's also being sued.

    Meet Kevin

  • As Governor John Hickenlooper prepared to speak today with United States Attorney General Eric Holder about how to proceed with implementing Amendment 64, which legalizes marijuana in Colorado, the measure's supporters say they want to see the governor stand up for the measure that passed by a 10-point margin.

    Blog text (14)

  • The United States Attorney General is responsible for enforcing federal laws across the country.

  • During his tenure, the United States Attorney General advocated for stricter gun control measures.

  • The decision made by the United States Attorney General was crucial for the outcome of the case.

Synonyms

Attorney General of the United States
vsUnited States Attorney General
  • Formal
7 4.8

A person who leads the United States Department of Justice and is the main lawyer for the federal government

has identical meaning but appears in a different official phrasing
US Attorney General
vsUnited States Attorney General
4 4.6

The main lawyer for the United States government who leads the Department of Justice

emphasizes being the nation's top law enforcement official rather than legal adviser

Surface Forms

United States Attorney General singular

Morphology

united + state + attorney + general

The components 'United States' (country) and 'attorney' (lawyer) make it largely inferable that this is an official US lawyer, so much of the meaning can be guessed from the parts. However, 'general' here means 'chief' in a postpositive/title use rather than the military sense given in the word list, which may confuse a B1 learner who only knows 'general' as an army officer; this partial predictability makes the phrase semi-transparent.

Etymology

The title United States Attorney General comes from old job names where the describing word came after the job: an attorney is a lawyer and general here means 'in charge of many things'. So, the phrase means the 'head lawyer' for the whole United States, which is why this person is the country's top lawyer.