generals

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of general.

   The generals disagreed sharply about how to deploy their troops.

   Three generals were promoted after the successful campaign.

   Note

   One regular plural serves every noun sense of general. It covers military commanders and great strategists, the heads of religious orders such as the Jesuits, and the historical maid-of-all-work. In older English it also meant general facts or propositions. When general follows a title as an adjective of rank, the plural falls on the noun before it, giving attorneys general.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of general.

   Note

   The -s here belongs to a verb made from the military noun, meaning to lead soldiers as a general. It is spelled exactly like the plural noun, so only the sentence tells them apart: a subject followed by generals is the verb. The adjective general, despite sharing the spelling, never takes this ending.

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