an initial member

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "an initial member" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to someone who is one of the first members of a group or organization, often in the context of founding or starting something. Example: "As an initial member of the committee, I helped shape the organization's mission and goals."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

Scoopt members must sign an initial member contract, as well as a separate disclosure form for each submission indicating the photo is authentic, and that they did not break laws or put themselves in danger in the pursuit of the picture.

Forbes

At the end of each interview, these themes were reviewed with the participant as an initial member checking strategy to enhance overall data credibility.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

In the past decade, membership has doubled from an initial five members to ten members now; its member airlines carried a total of 2.5 billion passengers and generated almost $500 billion, €450 million in revenue from passenger activities.

Wikipedia

Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, Inc. (ACGT) mourns the loss of Diane Wassman Darst, an initial Board member whose participation will be deeply missed by all of her colleagues who shared her passionate devotion to the mission of ACGT.

The New York Times

The 'lipopeptide shuffle' has been applied here to the APJ receptor and has rapidly resulted in the discovery of a 33 nM APJ agonist hit from an initial 369 member lipopeptide synthetic array.

Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters

The recursive OC process is then carried out with the initial member sizes obtained from a closed-form solution developed for the similar problem with a single drift constraint.

Engineering Structures

Each preliminary cluster is initialized by taking its representative as its initial member.

Algorithms for Molecular Biology

Ms. Isham is also being named as the initial member of the new worldwide strategic leadership team.

The New York Times

When a vehicle reaches the communication range, the collision free path was determined by comparing the initial member of collision group and of another incoming vehicle.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

This paper is concerned with probabilistic analysis of initial member stress in geometrically imperfect regular lattice structures with periodic boundary conditions.

International Journal of Solids and Structures

Although coexistence would be the result of initial member sizes on the separate OC, this possibility is too sensitive to disturbances to be sociological meaningful.

Advances in Difference Equations

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When referring to someone as "an initial member", ensure that the context clearly indicates they were one of the first individuals to join or establish a group, organization, or project.

Common error

Avoid using "an initial member" when you actually mean the only member. "Initial" implies there are or will be others, while "only" indicates a singular instance.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "an initial member" functions as a noun phrase, where "initial" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "member". This phrase typically identifies someone who was among the first to join a group or organization. Ludwig confirms the correctness of this phrase.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

30%

Science

30%

Formal & Business

20%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

5%

Wiki

5%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "an initial member" is a grammatically sound and commonly used expression to describe someone who was among the first to join a group or organization. As Ludwig suggests, the phrase is correct and usable in various contexts. While alternatives like "a founding member" or "an original member" can be used to convey similar meanings, "an initial member" maintains a neutral tone suitable for both formal and informal communication. It's crucial to use it correctly, ensuring that the context clearly indicates early involvement without implying sole membership.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a founding member

Replaces "initial" with "founding", emphasizing the act of establishing the group.

an original member

Substitutes "initial" with "original", focusing on the idea of being one of the first.

an early member

Replaces "initial" with "early", indicating membership during the group's early stages.

a beginning member

Employs "beginning" instead of "initial", highlighting the start of membership.

a starting member

Uses "starting" in place of "initial", stressing the commencement of membership.

one of the first members

Expands the phrase to explicitly state the individual is among the first.

a pioneer member

Replaces "initial" with "pioneer", suggesting a leading or innovative role.

a charter member

Uses "charter" to indicate membership established under the group's founding document.

an inaugural member

Substitutes "initial" with "inaugural", implying membership at the beginning of a new venture.

a primary member

Replaces "initial" with "primary", denoting fundamental or basic membership.

FAQs

How can I use "an initial member" in a sentence?

You can use "an initial member" to describe someone who was among the first to join a group or organization. For example, "As "an initial member" of the club, she helped to establish its core values."

What are some alternatives to saying "an initial member"?

Alternatives include "a founding member", "an original member", or "an early member", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is it correct to say "the initial member" instead of "an initial member"?

While grammatically possible, "the initial member" implies there was only one initial member. "An initial member" is more common because it acknowledges that there were likely several initial members.

What is the difference between ""an initial member"" and "a former member"?

"An initial member" refers to someone who joined at the beginning, while "a former member" indicates someone who was previously a member but is no longer part of the group.