Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for ab initio. Search instead for ab+initio.

ab initio

American  
[ahb i-nit-ee-oh, ab i-nish-ee-oh] / ɑb ɪˈnɪt iˌoʊ, æb ɪˈnɪʃ iˌoʊ /

adverb

Latin.
  1. from the beginning.


ab initio British  
/ æb ɪˈnɪʃɪˌəʊ /
  1. from the start; from scratch

    ab initio courses

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Many universities now offer "ab initio" undergraduate courses for languages, meaning you can start as a complete beginner - something Prof Koglbauer says has bolstered uptake.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2025

This effect was confirmed through ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, which revealed the migration pathways of protons near the Sc cation when transporting across the material.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2024

Using precise ab initio calculations, the results closely matched real-world data on nuclear properties such as size, structure and binding energy.

From Science Daily • May 15, 2024

In that sense, the void ab initio doctrine is a tool of accountability.

From Slate • Nov. 16, 2022

Cui ab initio devotæ erant, æternum consecrat, in venerando Almæ Matris sinu, unde contra seculorum rubiginem fidam illi custodiam promittit, et contra veritatis hostes stabile patrocinium.'

From Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867 With a Preliminary Notice of the earlier Library founded in the Fourteenth Century by Macray, William Dunn