Definition of Initialization 1. (computer science) the format of sectors on the surface of a hard disk drive so that the operating system can access them and setting a starting position Noun Synonyms for word "initialization" Semanticaly linked words with "initialization" Hyponims for word "initialization" Lexical Analysis for "initialization" initialize divide (a disk) into marked sectors so that it may store data assign an initial value to a computer program etymology deinitialization etymology reinitialization etymological origin of -ation variant:orthography initialisation etymological origin of initialize etymologically related initiative etymologically related lazy initialisation is derived from initializations