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

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)

initialed, initialing, initialled, initialling

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

---

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

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• initialer noun
• initially adverb
• preinitial verb (used with object)
• subinitial verb (used with object)
• uninitialed adjective

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”; comes ) + -ium -ium ) + -alis -al ¹

Example Sentences

But its stock could end up trading like those classic meme stocks after a highly anticipated initial public offering later this year.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve initial funding of the new building, which at that time was planned for 2023 with an estimated cost of $600 million.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

As SpaceX approaches an initial public offering, some investors are discussing the idea of a mega-Musk merger as a follow-up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

For Danny Citrinowicz, a senior Iran researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, the initial picture was "deeply troubling".

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

In the initial six years following this policy change, the forest cover increased by 5 percent—a marked improvement for the habitat and thus for panda survival that hopefully will only increase.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

Related Words

• basic
• introductory
• original