general definition - Dictionary

MSN homeMailMy MSN

encartagreeting cards

encarta®

Dictionary

Thesaurus

Translations

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

	General Certificate of Education

	General Certificate of Secondary Education

	General Court

	general delivery

	general election

	General Equivalency Diploma

	General Headquarters

	general hospital

	general knowledge

	general ledger

	general meeting

	general obligation

	general obligation bond

	General of the Air Force

	General of the Armies

	General of the Army

	general officer

Also available:

World English Dictionary
Dictionnaire Français

general

gen·er·al [ jénnərəl ]

adjective

Definition:

1. overall: relating to or including all or nearly all of the members of a category, group, or whole

a general increase in demand

2. usual: applying or happening in most cases

as a general rule

3. widespread: shared or participated in by many

a general sense that something ought to be done

4. miscellaneous: having a varied content or wide scope

a general store

5. not specialized: unspecialized or lacking specialized knowledge

a book that was intended for the general reader

6. not specific: not specific, detailed, or clearly defined

She spoke in the most general terms.

7. high-ranking: with overall authority, or of superior rank

a general manager

noun (plural gen·er·als)

Definition:

1. high ranking officer: an officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps of a rank above lieutenant general, or a Canadian Army or Air Force officer of equivalent rank

2. military
Same as general officer

3. medicine ( informal )
Same as general anesthetic

4. health services ( informal )
Same as general hospital

5. the public: the public as a whole ( archaic )

[12th century. Via French< Latin generalis "of the whole class" < genus "race, kind"]

gen·er·al·ness noun

in general

1. as a whole

2. in most cases or circumstances

Cultural Note


	The General, a movie (1926) starring actor Buster Keaton. Regarded as one of the greatest silent comedies, it is set during the Civil War and is based on a historical incident: the hijack of a Confederate train by Union soldiers. Keaton plays railroad man Johnnie Gray, whose attempts to recapture the train involve superb visual gags, gripping drama, and brilliantly timed stunts.