Abbreviations and letters
When we abbreviate a word or phrase, we shorten it. Abbreviations can be formed from the first letters of the word or phrase. In such cases, we normally say them by spelling out each letter: …
initial
verb[ T ]
uk /ɪˈnɪʃ.əl/ us /ɪˈnɪʃ.əl/-ll- or US usually-l-
to write your initials on something: 在…上签署姓名的首字母
If you make any changes to the document, please initial them.如果你修改了文件，请签上你姓名的首字母。

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Signing & signatures
anon
autographically
co-sign
co-signatory
co-signer
countersign
John Hancock
notarize
sign
sign (something) off
sign for something
sign for/with someone
sign in
sign on
sign something away
signature
signing
tag
the undersigned
unsigned

initial | American Dictionary

initial
adjective[ not gradable ]
us/ɪˈnɪʃ·əl/

initialadjective[not gradable] (BEGINNING)

of or at the beginning; first:
She failed her driving test on the initial try, but passed the next time.
The president’s initial popularity soon disappeared.

initially

adverb[ not gradable ]us/ɪˈnɪʃ·ə·li/
The ceremony, initially planned for this month, was postponed.
initial
noun[ C ]
us/ɪˈnɪʃ·əl/

initialnoun[C] (FIRST LETTER)

the first letter of a name, esp. when used to represent a name
Your initials are the first letters of each of your names:
They will put your initials on the luggage for another $15.
initial
verb[ T ]
us/ɪˈnɪʃ·əl/

initialverb[T] (WRITE FIRST LETTERS)

to write your initials on something:
Please initial each document.

initial | Business English

initial
adjective[ before noun ]
uk /ɪˈnɪʃəl/us
happening at the beginning:
initial estimate/forecastEconomists had expected GDP growth to be revised upwards from last month's initial estimate of 0.6%.
initial charge/cost/feeThe fund has an initial charge of 5.25%.
Investors may not get back the full value of their initial investment.
initial
verb[ T ]
uk /ɪˈnɪʃəl/usinitialling or US usually initialing | initialled or US usually initialed
to write the first letters of each of your names on an official document to show that you have read it and agree with it:
Initial and date each page of the contract.
to discuss and agree to an arrangement with another organization, country, etc.:
The two nations used the summit to initial a deal on energy cooperation.
initial
noun[ C, usually plural ]
uk /ɪˈnɪʃəl/us
the first letter of each of your names:
He was dismissed for forging his manager's initials on the invoices.
one of the letters by which an organization may be known, which are usually the first letters of each of the words in its name:
The insurance giant AIG's initials stand for American International Group.

Examples of initial

initial
Letters "a" and "r" appearing before authors' initials refer to target article and response, respectively.
The size of the drop leading a plume is roughly proportional to the initial thickness of the layer.
Validated solutions of initial value problems for ordinary differential equations.
The initial transcripts included phonetic approximations of every utterance.
So, sr1(0) = 0.003m represents the initial position.
The ability of this numerical method to consider non-isotropic initial data represents a decided advantage over other approaches.
This sample represents 83 % of the initial cohort.
The model is run under twelve different conditions - three initial parties and four initial parties, and within each of these six different informational conditions.
Figure 8 shows an example involving five initial disks, all of radius 1, that possesses no symmetry.
We also routinely check samples before and after longer exposures even for samples that pass initial screening of radiation sensitivity.
Therefore, growth rates may increase over time simply because the initial and descendant cells are recovering from treatment rather than evolving.
The initial inflation target was 3% until the end of 1992 and then it was reduced to 2% in 1993 until the end of 1995.
Experiments evaluating the effects of isoproteronol on tissue removed from the heart at surgery demonstrated initial inhibition of contraction with improvements over time.
Such cross-time effects are of interest regardless of the initial roles of genes or early experiences.
It must be stressed, however, that these are only initial observations based upon a small sample.
See all examples of initial
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.