SURGEON GENERAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

• SURGEON GENERAL (noun)
  The noun SURGEON GENERAL has 2 senses:

1. the head of the United States Public Health Service

2. the senior medical officer in an Army or Navy

  Familiarity information: SURGEON GENERAL used as a noun is rare.

• SURGEON GENERAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The head of the United States Public Health Service

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Surgeon General" is a kind of...):

executive; executive director (a person responsible for the administration of a business)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The senior medical officer in an Army or Navy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Surgeon General" is a kind of...):

medic; medical officer (a medical practitioner in the armed forces)

 Context examples 

Smoking has many harmful effects on health, which have been detailed in numerous studies since the U.S. Surgeon General’s 1964 report linking smoking to lung cancer.

(No safe level of smoking: Even low-intensity smokers are at increased risk of earlier death, National Institutes of Health)

According to a 2016 report by the US Surgeon General, 13.5 percent of middle school students, 37.7 percent of high school students and 35.8 percent of young adults (18 to 24 years of age) have used e-cigarettes, compared with 16.4 percent of older adults (25 years and up).

(Using Electronic Cigarettes Can Damage DNA, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Our findings support the current recommendation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the World Health Organization that women not drink or smoke during pregnancy, and emphasizes the significance of dual exposure, which provides the greatest risk for infant mortality.

(Combined prenatal smoking and drinking greatly increases SIDS risk, National Institutes of Health)