1. to set up or prepare something for use; to start or begin the operation of a system or device
Usage: British English spelling; American English uses 'initialize'; commonly used in computing and technology contexts
2. to set a variable or data structure to an initial value in programming
Usage: technical; computing term

Examples

• You need to initialise the printer before you can print your documents.
• The system will initialise automatically when you turn it on.
• In the program, we initialise all variables to zero at the start.
• Please initialise the new hard drive before using it.
• The software initialises the database with default settings.
• Make sure to initialise your device properly for optimal performance.