attorney
/əˈtɜɹni/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.69 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A lawyer; one who advises or represents others in legal matters as a profession.
American usage
noun
An agent or representative authorized to act on someone else's behalf in accordance with that person's instructions.
noun
An honorific given to lawyers and notaries public, or those holders by profession who also do other jobs. Usually capitalized or abbreviated as Atty.
American usage
noun
A prosecutor.
Example Sentences
- "If those attempts are unsuccessful, the attorney requesting the interrogatories may file a motion for sanctions with the court. The sanctions range from attorney fees to prohibiting the nonanswering party from presenting or defending claims."
- "“Conflicting out” attorneys is the way a husband will make sure his wife doesn't hire any of the most aggressive lawyers in town."
- "Near-synonyms: agent, proxy, representative"
Etymology
From Middle English attourne, from Old French atorné, past participle of atorner, atourner, aturner (“to attorn”), in the sense of "one appointed or constituted".
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: attourne, atorné
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈtɜɹni/
- British English: /əˈtɜːni/
Usage
- American usage
- British usage
- Dated
- Derogatory
- Intransitive verb
- Transitive verb