Meaning & use
general manager
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Meanings
nouncountable
The person in charge of all the daily work of a company, a branch, or a sports team.
Grammar: Countable: say a general manager or two general managers; the plural s goes on manager, not general.
Patterns
- the general manager of something
- appoint someone (as) general manager
- report to the general manager
She was promoted to general manager after ten years in sales.
The general manager of the hotel greeted every guest personally.
As general manager, he decides how the whole store is run.
nouncountableAmericansport
The senior person who runs the business side of a sports club, especially in North American baseball, basketball, and football.
Grammar: Countable; usually used with a team name or the name of the sport: the team's general manager.
Patterns
- the team's general manager
- hire someone as general manager
The team's general manager traded two players before the deadline.
Fans blamed the general manager for a season of poor results.
Word forms
| plural | general managers |
|---|
Common combinations
- appoint a general manager
- The board appointed a new general manager in June.
- the general manager of a hotel
- He worked as the general manager of a large hotel in Chicago.
- report to the general manager
- All department heads report directly to the general manager.
- a general manager position
- She applied for a general manager position at the new branch.
- deputy general manager
- The deputy general manager handles complaints when she is away.
Synonyms and how they differ
- manager
- Much more general: a manager can be in charge of just one team or department, while a general manager runs the whole operation.
- director
- Usually a more senior board-level role in a company; a general manager often reports to a director.
- chief executive
- The top person in a whole organization, a bigger role than a general manager of one branch or team.
- head
- Informal and general, used for the leader of any group or department, not a formal job title.
Word family
- general management noun
- The work or department of running the whole of a business rather than one part.
- manage verb
- To be in charge of people, work, or money.
- managerial adjective
- Relating to managers or to managing.
Commonly confused: general manager or managing director?
general manager vs managing director
In British companies the managing director is the most senior executive, above other managers; a general manager is usually lower and runs one unit.
Practice
Which sentence uses "general manager" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"A general manager" is the correct singular form with the article a, and the adjective general comes before the noun manager. Option 0 wrongly adds a plural s to a singular subject, and option 3 reverses the word order, which is not English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “general manager”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.