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ab initio

American  
[ahb i-nit-ee-oh, ab i-nish-ee-oh] / ɑb ɪˈnɪt iˌoʊ, æb ɪˈnɪʃ iˌoʊ /

adverb

Latin.
  1. from the beginning.


ab initio British  
/ æb ɪˈnɪʃɪˌəʊ /
  1. from the start; from scratch

    ab initio courses

"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

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

They paired these measurements with detailed ab initio simulations that tracked thousands of possible atomic pathways and calculated how likely decay was along each one.

From Science Daily Mar. 24, 2026

Many universities now offer "ab initio" undergraduate courses for languages, meaning you can start as a complete beginner - something Prof Koglbauer says has bolstered uptake.

From BBC Dec. 15, 2025

However, these ab initio methods have difficulties in performing reliable calculations for systems with complex interactions.

From Science Daily May 15, 2024

The void ab initio doctrine has obvious application in SisterSong.

From Slate Nov. 16, 2022

Such a bond were contrary to public policy and void ab initio.

From The Panchronicon by Harold Steele MacKaye

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