initial
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning; first.
the initial step in a process.
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Phonetics. occurring at the beginning of a word or syllable, as the (k) sound of kite, chasm, or quay.
noun
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initials
plural
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an initial letter, as of a word.
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the first letter of a proper name.
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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)
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initials,
present (3rd person singular)
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initialed,
past participle, past
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initialled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
initialing,
present participle
-
initialling
present participle (especially British)
adjective
noun
-
the first letter of a word, esp a person's name
-
printing a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work
-
botany a cell from which tissues and organs develop by division and differentiation; a meristematic cell
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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initialernoun
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preinitialverb (used with object)
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subinitialverb (used with object)
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uninitialedadjective
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initiallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
initialsimple
-
initialssimple
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have initialedperfect
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have initialledperfect
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has initialedperfect
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has initialledperfect
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am initialingprogressive
-
am initiallingprogressive
-
are initialingprogressive
-
are initiallingprogressive
-
is initialingprogressive
-
is initiallingprogressive
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have been initialingperfect progressive
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have been initiallingperfect progressive
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has been initialingperfect progressive
-
has been initiallingperfect progressive
Past
-
initialedsimple
-
initialledsimple
-
had initialedperfect
-
had initialledperfect
-
was initialingprogressive
-
was initiallingprogressive
-
were initialingprogressive
-
were initiallingprogressive
-
had been initialingperfect progressive
-
had been initiallingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing initial
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Word Generation Science - Preparing a Scientific Investigation
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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:
First off, that discussion board was very likely online before you appear to have made your initial investments.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
He has suggested that OpenAI may need to delay its much-anticipated initial public offering to focus on safety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Amodei's alert came just as Altman said he would not pursue an initial public stock offering this year, saying it would be "ill advised" given the swirling safety concerns.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Mills Jnr gave evidence and claimed the initial encounter was a "chance meeting" with a family friend.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
I was correct in my initial assessment that two wheels are missing.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
After getting fired, Eatherly pivoted, creating his own remodeling business, named after his initials, DLE Contracting.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Ocasio-Cortez, widely known by her initials AOC, burst onto the national political scene with an upset congressional victory in 2018 and rapidly became a leading voice of the Democratic Party's left wing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The United Arab Emirates reported there was no local transmission when the patient, known by his initials M.S., was there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 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
Many bear Mr. Barris’s stamps and initials, but there are other diagrams written in different hands that Chandresh does not recognize.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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
The move comes after the Solomons and China initialed a draft agreement of a security pact last month, with the Solomons saying they would sign a final version soon.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2022
At the very top, there are two giant joists initialed by workers from 1864.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2020
Domingo approached the window, whispered: “I remind you only of this: when you get this jeweled initialed sword, claim it as your own. Tell no one of my involvement.”
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
The US State Department said technical teams had initialled the draft text on Wednesday, ahead of a formal signing ceremony next Friday to be witnessed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2025
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
He was initialing ballots to be handed out to voters, a standard procedure mandated by state law, according to the county clerk.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
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
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 Elizabeth Robins
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 Laura Lee Hope
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 Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
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 Alfred Biese
He was very preoccupied, pinning up cheques and initialling some important customer's paying-in book.
From Somehow Good by William Frend De Morgan
Miss Belmont stooped at the table, and when Mr. Berry entered he found her initialling the pay-sheet.
From Despair's Last Journey by David Christie Murray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
