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- DictionaryDic·tate
verb
- 1. lay down authoritatively; prescribe: "the tsar's attempts to dictate policy"
- 2. say or read aloud (words to be typed, written down, or recorded on tape): "I have four letters to dictate"
noun
- 1. an order or principle that must be obeyed: "the dictates of fashion"
1. : to speak or read for a person to transcribe or for a machine to record. dictating a letter to her secretary. 2. a. : to issue as an order. b. : to impose, pronounce, or specify authoritatively. dictate the terms of surrender.
DICTATE definition: 1. to give orders, or tell someone exactly what they must do, with total authority: 2. to…. Learn more.
to say or read (something) aloud for another person to transcribe or for a machine to record: to dictate some letters to a secretary. to prescribe or lay down authoritatively or peremptorily; command unconditionally: to dictate peace terms to a conquered enemy.
DICTATE meaning: 1. to give orders, or tell someone exactly what they must do, with total authority: 2. to…. Learn more.
In a very different meaning, dictate means to say something out loud to a person or into a machine so it can be recorded. Up until fairly recently, bosses dictated letters and reports to secretaries who wrote them down.
dic·tate. (dĭk′tāt′, dĭk-tāt′) v. dic·tat·ed, dic·tat·ing, dic·tates. v.tr. 1. To say or read aloud to be recorded or written by another: dictate a letter. 2. a. To prescribe with authority; impose: dictated the rules of the game.
If you dictate something, you say or read it aloud for someone else to write down.
