initiator
Britishnoun
-
a person or thing that initiates
-
chem a substance that starts a chain reaction
-
chem an explosive used in detonators
Other Word Forms
Explanation
The initiator is the one who starts it, whatever it is. The guy who shouts "Let's get this party started!" is the initiator. An initiator is an instigator, the one who begins something. Initiator comes from the Latin initiare, meaning “beginning.” The spark that lights the fuse is the initiator of the bomb’s explosion. John F. Kennedy was the initiator of the US Peace Corps. Hockey players are expert initiators of fights that, if happening on the street, would often result in the arrests of the participants.
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.
To better understand the DNA sequences that control this process, researchers in the laboratory of University of California San Diego Professor James T. Kadonaga focused on an important DNA element known as the "initiator."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Khe, 71, was identified as the leader and initiator in the case, while Thong, 64, was said to be an accomplice.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2025
The pardon entreaty might have been dismissed out of hand had it not been for its initiator — Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas, son and namesake of the slain candidate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
Ms Rowbotham said Carriera "became integral in popularising the use of pastels and as an initiator of the Rococo style and is remembered as one of the most successful female artists of any era".
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2023
M. de Blowitz, prodigious result as he is, is even more striking as initiator, as himself the creator of a special environment, as himself in his own way a “final cause.”
From McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, July, 1893 by Various
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.
