Fact · Dictation
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines dictate, as a verb, as saying words for somebody else to write down or to be recorded.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“to say words for somebody else to write down or to be recorded”
Dictate: meaning in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford University Press, 2026, Entry for dictate (verb), first sense.
Open the original- What it measures
- The entry marks the verb as both transitive and intransitive, and shows the pattern dictate something (to somebody). The same sense covers dictating a letter to an assistant.
- What it does not show
- A learner's dictionary simplifies. It describes the verb in English generally and does not address speech recognition.