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

There's interesting stuff happening on the hardware side of dictation too. — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026

Wispr faces serious competition from the biggest names in tech—Apple, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI—who’ve all been chasing dictation and voice in some form. — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026

The company envisions Vox handling dictation while MouthPad handles cursor control. — Jesse Watson , Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026

Although sometimes, the pair’s vocal dictation would cross wires. — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for dictation

• ablation
• aeration
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation

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