Initials are the first letters of someone's names, used as a shortened way to represent their full name. If your name is Sarah Jane Miller, your initials are S.J.M. People often use initials to sign documents quickly, label their belongings, or create monograms on items like towels or backpacks.

You'll see initials in many places: J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, and E.B. White wrote Charlotte's Web. Some people become so well known by their initials that few remember their full names.

Initials serve practical purposes too. Students might write their initials at the top of their homework papers. Parents might sew initials into clothing tags so items don't get mixed up at camp. Lawyers and business people initial each page of important contracts to show they've reviewed and approved everything.

When you initial something (using it as a verb), you're writing your initials on it to show your approval or ownership. Teachers might ask you to initial a permission slip after your parents sign it, or you might initial the corner of your art project so everyone knows it's yours.