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initial

American  
[ih-nish-uhl] / ɪˈnɪʃ əl /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning; first.

    the initial step in a process.

  2. Phonetics. occurring at the beginning of a word or syllable, as the (k) sound of kite, chasm, or quay.


noun

initials plural
  1. an initial letter, as of a word.

  2. the first letter of a proper name.

  3. a letter of extra size or an ornamental character used at the beginning of a chapter or other division of a book, manuscript, or the like.

verb (used with object)

initials, present (3rd person singular) initialed, past participle, past initialled, past participle, past initialing, present participle initialling present participle
  1. to mark or sign with an initial or the initials of one's name, especially as a token of preliminary or informal approval.

initial British  
/ ɪˈnɪʃəl /

adjective

  1. of, at, or concerning the beginning

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the first letter of a word, esp a person's name

  2. printing a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work

  3. botany a cell from which tissues and organs develop by division and differentiation; a meristematic cell

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to sign with one's initials, esp to indicate approval; endorse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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Etymology

Origin of initial

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin initiālis, equivalent to initi(um) “beginning” ( init-, noun derivative of inīre “to enter, begin”; in- in- 2 + īre “to go”; cf. comes) + -ium -ium ) + -alis -al 1

Explanation

The first letter of your name is your initial. The first thing you say to someone is your initial greeting. Initial is something that occurs first or at the beginning. If someone asks you to initial a form, they're asking you to sign by writing your initials on it. If your name is Inna Instant, you would write I.I., and you'd probably write it really quick! The first draft of a paper might be called your initial pass at getting your ideas down. If you say that these are your initial ideas, it implies that you will be coming up with more.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing initial

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In its initial disclosure of the hack on 16 July, external, Hugging Face said it was still assessing whether any customer or partner data was affected and would contact affected parties if necessary.

From BBC Jul. 22, 2026

Prologis, the world’s largest owner of industrial real estate, said Wednesday that it is offering 0.092 new shares for each Segro share tendered, a 9.5% increase over its initial proposal.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 22, 2026

In June, Intel said that its 18A-P variant node is in risk production, meaning the chip-manufacturing process has matured and can begin initial production.

From MarketWatch Jul. 22, 2026

It came to prominence recently as "Tehran's tollbooth" -- a stopping-off point for the handful of vessels that Iran approved to exit or enter the Gulf during its initial blockade earlier in the war.

From Barron's Jul. 22, 2026

The only quick way to break Enigma messages is to use another Enigma machine with the exact same initial settings.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

He knew, though, that Cantor Fitzgerald executives preferred to use initials rather than full names in their emails.

From BBC Jul. 14, 2026

According to the lawsuit, Matthew Kittle dropped off his 23-month-old son, referred to by the initials C.K., at the Bay Club’s El Segundo Clubhouse around 8:30 a.m. on March 17, 2025.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 8, 2026

The band's initials, which originally stood for Xtraordinary Girls, now represent "Xtraordinary Genes," reflecting a message, that "it's okay to be yourself as you are", says Chisa.

From BBC Jun. 19, 2026

It said the contracts involved people whom it identified only by their initials as A.Sh.,

From Barron's Jun. 13, 2026

Yet Jen’s father had been proud that he’d gotten to keep the same initials.

From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

One of the invoices is initialed “SW” with “OK to pay” written by it.

From Washington Post Nov. 12, 2022

He testified to purchasing a car for $3,500 and initialed a blank sales agreement.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 3, 2022

At the very top, there are two giant joists initialed by workers from 1864.

From New York Times May 31, 2020

Leaders of both teams initialed their copies and handed them to their Qatari hosts.

From Seattle Times Sep. 8, 2019

The next day, in Paris, Kissinger and Le Duc Tho initialed the deal to end the Vietnam War.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

He reminded the jury of that evidence, including a memo the former president initialled authorising a pay cut for another executive for the exact amount of his perk, rent paid by the company.

From BBC Dec. 7, 2022

Medinsky said Russia had made a second major de-escalatory step by agreeing to a possible meeting of the two countries’ presidents at the same moment that a peace agreement was initialled.

From Reuters Mar. 29, 2022

Pages initialled by "DC" set out how the single market, due to start in 1992, would help business, workers, consumers, savers, holidaymakers.

From BBC Mar. 8, 2019

President Mohamed Mursi's government initialled an IMF deal in November but postponed ratification in December due to unrest ignited by a political row over the extent of Mursi's powers.

From Reuters Apr. 3, 2013

“That is correct, Monsieur. My handkerchiefs are always initialled in the Russian characters. H is N in Russian.”

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

Sometimes, I think back to initialing the bark, or nailing a plank of wood into the trunk, or breaking a branch by accident.

From Washington Post Jan. 19, 2023

Scott McDonell, the Dane County clerk, said the man is a poll worker, and the video shows him initialing ballots before they were handed out to voters.

From Seattle Times Nov. 11, 2022

But he turned out to be a poll worker in Wisconsin conducting the standard procedure of initialing ballots for voters.

From New York Times Nov. 9, 2022

He was initialing ballots to be handed out to voters, a standard procedure mandated by state law, said Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell.

From Seattle Times Nov. 8, 2022

Each man had a sole-leather trunk on his shoulder, a trunk so new that the initialing "G. V. S." was still wet.

From The Messenger by Robins, Elizabeth

The earlier taste still ruled in initialling and border decorations; but little flowers were added by degrees to the thorn-leaf pattern, and birds, sometimes angels, introduced.

From The Development of the Feeling for Nature in the Middle Ages and Modern Times by Biese, Alfred

While Mollie and Grace closed their eyes, Betty dug idly in the sand, and Amy produced a handkerchief and a tiny embroidery frame and began initialling a corner.

From The Outdoor Girls at Ocean View Or, The Box That Was Found in the Sand by Hope, Laura Lee

This is the Epeira's trade-mark, the flourish of an artist initialling his creation.

From The Wonders of Instinct Chapters in the Psychology of Insects by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

This is the Epeira’s trade-mark, the flourish of an artist initialling his creation. 

From The Life of the Spider by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

Lawless had acted on an impulse in initialling her programme as he had done—a recurrence, even though slight, of the old midsummer madness.

From Grit Lawless by Young, F.E. Mills

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