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.

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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

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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”; 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.

Example Sentences

Mary Harris: Part of your story is that since this initial detention, you have kept speaking out.

From Slate • May 19, 2026

AIAI’s prospectus referred repeatedly to “an expected initial listing price of $20 per share,” but this was a direct listing rather than an IPO.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

Carvalho’s salary, unchanged since his initial contract, is $440,000 per year plus a $50,000 annual contribution to a retirement annuity, among other perks.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Tickets eventually went on sale on sale on Friday after an initial delay - but with caveats that the game could have different teams or be on another date.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

I took Gran’s initial resting heart rate, counting a total of thirty-four beats for thirty seconds, and scribbled sixty-eight in my notebook.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Related Words

• basic
• introductory
• original