take dictation
idiom
: to write down the words that someone says so that they can be used in a letter, report, etc.
Her secretary's very good at taking dictation.
Examples of take dictation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Milch arrived, told someone to take dictation, and delivered a stream-of-consciousness speech that, legend has it, Franz(*) performed word-for-word only minutes later.
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Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2023
Moran went on to do much more than take dictation as the industrious author’s fading eyesight, Parkinson’s and an emergency surgery affected her ability to work and speak in the late 1980s.
—Lisa Amand, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Mar. 2022
Three weeks later, Ms. Bennett said, she was summoned to Mr. Cuomo’s second-floor office and was asked to take dictation with another aide.
—New York Times, 10 Aug. 2021
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2023
Moran went on to do much more than take dictation as the industrious author’s fading eyesight, Parkinson’s and an emergency surgery affected her ability to work and speak in the late 1980s.
—Lisa Amand, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Mar. 2022
Three weeks later, Ms. Bennett said, she was summoned to Mr. Cuomo’s second-floor office and was asked to take dictation with another aide.
—New York Times, 10 Aug. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take dictation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near take dictation
Cite this Entry
“Take dictation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20dictation. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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