From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe initiativethe initiativeCONTROLif you have or take the initiative, you are in a position to control a situation and decide what to do next Why don’t you take the initiative and ask him out? Politicians need to seize the initiative from the terrorists. The government must not lose the initiative in the fight against terrorism. → initiative
Examples from the Corpus
lose the initiative• For the first time in more than a decade Milosevic has lost the initiative.• We have lost the initiative and allowed our opponents to dictate the subject - even the rules - of the debate.• Don't lose the initiative by overwhelming people with words.• Also too often they broke away only to lose the initiative by letting the cockney donkeys get back.• You will need to cooperate with them without losing the initiative. 