How to Use initial in a Sentence

initial

1 of 3 adjective

• Your first initial thought, or your first move may not be your best thought right away.
  — Ben Church, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2025
• What was missing from your initial query were specifics.
  — Christopher Elliott, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
• But there's more to it than those initial numbers.
  — Julie Appleby, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
• Our initial search did not yield anything.
  — JSTOR Daily, 24 Oct. 2025
• This should be at least $5 to cover your initial bet.
  — Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
• This will cover your initial $5 bet on any game.
  — Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2025
• Since that was at the base of the rocket, that initial work was done at the pad.
  — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2026
• The cleanup phase might take 5-10 times longer than the initial build.
  — Joe Toscano, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
• The initial feedback was rough.
  — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 23 June 2026
• The entire amount of your initial deposit will be matched with a bonus.
  — Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
• The initial two might’ve put Tang on the proverbial hot seat.
  — Sam McDowell February 16, Kansas City Star, 16 Feb. 2026
• That initial bump is expected to even out over time.
  — Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2026
• Part of the initial intrigue was key players who seemed to suit the new shape.
  — Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
• Past initial assessments of such killings have proven to be wrong.
  — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
• Trocheck was the initial standout.
  — Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
• The initial sign-ups had players rate their level.
  — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026
• This will unlock the initial $20 sign-up bonus.
  — Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Nov. 2025
• The initial sale didn’t fly with the bankruptcy judge.
  — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 20 Apr. 2026
• But initial reactions from town staff are mixed.
  — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 14 Apr. 2026
• Risk just $5 on your initial entry to get your bonuses.
  — Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
• This move could reduce the waiting time for that initial step from one year to just a few weeks.
  — ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
• This will cover your initial $5 bet on any game this weekend.
  — Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
• That initial test usually proves the point.
  — Rhett Power, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
• Anyone who loses will receive five bonus bets that add up to the initial stake.
  — Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Oct. 2025
• The trouble is many people don’t even get to the initial step of any testing.
  — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
• The initial half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mixture of rain, grime, and oil.
  — Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
• The initial half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mixture of rain, grime, and oil.
  — Southern California Weather Report, Daily News, 16 Feb. 2026
• The initial half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mixture of rain, grime, and oil.
  — Southern California Weather Report, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
• The initial half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mixture of rain, grime, and oil.
  — Southern California Weather Report, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025
• Her body was removed from the river about two hours after the initial call for help.
  — Mike Toole, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026

initial

2 of 3 noun

• She put her initials on each page of the contract.
• Those are my middle initials too, so that feels like some good vibes there.
  — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 25 Aug. 2025
• And inlaid in fine gold were the initials Wm.
  — Joel M. Vance, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
• Trump wrote, only adding his initials.
  — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 18 Mar. 2026
• Which is my initials backwards.
  — Michael Schneider, Variety, 22 May 2026
• Which is my initials backwards.
  — Michael Schneider, Variety, 26 May 2026
• In between each initial, Vale drew a heart.
  — Kayla Grant, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
• On the wrist straps are Street’s initials, scrawled in marker.
  — Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
• His initials are carved into the leather holster.
  — Debbie Elliott, NPR, 28 Aug. 2025
• One on her shoulder shows his initials over a broken heart framed by angel wings.
  — Amy Qin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
• Guests have been carving their names and initials into the wooden tops for decades.
  — Abby Price, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2025
• Spell out your partner's name—or keep it simple with a single initial.
  — Jessica Cherner, House Beautiful, 19 Jan. 2023
• Popp opted for blue and pink block lettering with her initials.
  — Danielle Calma, Travel + Leisure, 21 Jan. 2026
• His initials, in red and blue, would later adorn the low wall ringing the complex.
  — Nimet Kirac, New York Times, 4 May 2023
• Add her initial to this dainty necklace, which comes in gold, rose gold or silver.
  — Cameron Jenkins, Good Housekeeping, 6 July 2022
• The sterling silver ring comes in whole and half sizes and displays the initial of your choice.
  — Enjanae' Taylor, Southern Living, 21 Nov. 2023
• It's got my wife and all my daughters' initials on it, so thank you Berkeley.
  — Melody Chiu, Peoplemag, 25 July 2023
• Have their first initial embroidered on this classic black-and-white pouch.
  — Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 23 Sep. 2022
• The bands were inscribed with the couples’ initials and their wedding date.
  — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026
• Monroe also wore a white beanie with Carey’s initials.
  — Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 6 Apr. 2026
• He is referenced in the lawsuit by his initials.
  — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2026
• Maxwell is also called by the initials GI in some of the files.
  — Josh Meyer, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2026
• In this case, skipping the initials can also be a matter of safety.
  — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 24 June 2026
• In this case, skipping the initials can also be a matter of safety.
  — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 7 Dec. 2025
• For a personal touch, pick up a ceramic dish with her first initial.
  — Alyssa Gautieri, Good Housekeeping, 31 Mar. 2023
• The child is identified only by her initials.
  — Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 16 Oct. 2025
• Add your first name initial and theirs to great a subtly personalized gift.
  — Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, 25 Jan. 2023
• The shirts were used, with numbers and initials of indoor players written on the tags.
  — oregonlive, 22 July 2023
• There are four of these witnesses in this case, identified by their first name and initial.
  — Eric Levenson, CNN, 27 Oct. 2022
• Select your signature or initials in the menu that appears on the right.
  — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2025

initial

3 of 3 verb

• She initialed each page of the contract.
• The lawyer tells you to initial every page.
  — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
• Simply use a zester to initial a lime wedge for each guest's drink.
  — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Oct. 2022
• Leaders of both teams initialed their copies and handed them to their Qatari hosts.
  — Peter Baker, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2019
• In the warehouse, their bottles were shrink-wrapped, stored on pallets and initialed.
  — Laurel Demkovich, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2019
• Another thing Veliz has noticed is now many of tags are initialed.
  — Mayra Cruz, Houston Chronicle, 7 Feb. 2018
• Then it’s initialed or signed in a different colored ink so people can’t knock ‘em off.
  — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2025
• About two weeks later, your boxes of ammo show up, each one initialed buy the loader who made them.
  — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 8 Jan. 2020
• When those match, it’s marked approved the approver initials the envelope.
  — Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2024
• Medical staff had a practice of pre-filling out the logs and then initialing them later.
  — Erin Glynn, The Enquirer, 2 June 2024
• Fajman said ballots not being initialed when machines fail is always an issue.
  — Craig Lyons, Post-Tribune, 19 June 2018
• According to Shah, she was told to initial next to each relevant statement as Bastos read them aloud.
  — Gabrielle Chung, PEOPLE.com, 16 June 2021
• Billingsley read aloud, and then initialed next to, sentences explaining his right to remain silent and his right to have an attorney present, among others.
  — Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 18 July 2024
• According to the report, Terry read and initialed the waiver of rights form but was unwilling to submit to the test.
  — River Valley Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 16 Sep. 2024
• During the recount process, the candidates saw one ballot marked for O’Brien had not been initialed by an election judge.
  — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2024
• Value of those tools was initially set at around $500 total and police noted that they had been initialed by the owner.
  — Thomas Jewell, cleveland, 15 Apr. 2020
• The text of the treaty was initialed by foreign ministers, which indicates preliminary approval.
  — Michelle L. Price, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
• As images of Haitian slaves are projected on the board, five seats ahead of her, Shepard Thomas initials the sign-in sheet being passed around.
  — Kate Sullivan, CNN, 25 Dec. 2017
• Rickmon Tuesday ruled that eight ballots were not properly initialed by election judges before giving them to voters.
  — Alicia Fabbre, chicagotribune.com, 5 Nov. 2019
• This consent can be included in the employment contract so long as the provision is separately initialed.
  — Dan Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
• Taylor was one of the first witnesses called Wednesday during the impeachment inquiry’s initial open hearing.
  — Desmond Butler, chicagotribune.com, 14 Nov. 2019
• Taylor was one of the first witnesses called Wednesday during the impeachment inquiry’s initial open hearing.
  — USA TODAY, 15 Nov. 2019
• Instead, the agreement was initialed and signed by Essential Consultants.
  — Dylan Matthews, Vox, 24 Mar. 2018
• The agreement was initialed and signed by Tully in March, but was not filed until April 7, according to online court records.
  — Holly V. Hays, Indianapolis Star, 17 Apr. 2020
• Leaders of the three countries met in 1992 in San Antonio, Texas, to initial the agreement.
  — David Luhnow, WSJ, 4 June 2021
• Egypt and Russia have already initialed an agreement for a $25 billion Russian loan to finance the construction.
  — Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2017
• The 17-point agreement initialed by the two leaders is the key to normalizing relations and formally ending conflict.
  — Thomas De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2025
• In other words, a $7,500 tax credit was meaningless to initial Tesla buyers, but the quality of the car wasn’t.
  — John Tamny, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
• The serial numbers on those seals are written on a form that is then initialed by the chief inspector and a member of the Board of Absentee Canvassers.
  — Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2024
• The Republic confirmed the authenticity of the postings, which are initialed, through further correspondence with the women.
  — Lauren Castle, azcentral, 29 June 2019