dictation

noun

dic·​ta·​tion dik-ˈtā-shən 

1

a

: prescription

b

: arbitrary command

2

a(1)

: the act or manner of uttering words to be transcribed

(2)

: material that is dictated or transcribed

b(1)

: the performing of music to be reproduced by a student

(2)

: music so reproduced

Examples of dictation in a Sentence

He used a tape recorder for dictation.

Recent Examples on the Web

The dictations began to coalesce into essays that combined tales of his former, able-bodied life with unvarnished assessments of his medical and mental conditions. —Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2025

People across Ukraine sit and listen to a dictation of a famous work by a Ukrainian author. —Michael Robinson Chávez, NPR, 6 Jan. 2025

But much of what survives are school children’s copies of other works, an indication that children learned by dictation with the student copying what a teacher said or wrote. —Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2024

This could be significant for those that routinely use voice dictation for text and email messages. —Ken Colburn, The Arizona Republic, 10 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin dictātiōn-, dictātiō "uttering of material to be transcribed, command" (Latin, "dictated draft"), from Latin dictāre "to say repeatedly, say aloud words to be transcribed by another, issue as an order" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at dictate entry 1

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined at sense 2a(2)

Phrases Containing dictation

• take dictation

Kids Definition

dictation

noun

dic·​ta·​tion dik-ˈtā-shən 

1

: the act or process of giving commands

2

a

: the dictating of words

write from dictation

b

: something that is dictated or is taken down from dictation