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dictation
/dɪkˈteɪʃən/
act of writing down spoken words
The teacher gave the students a dictation to practice their listening and spelling.
The teacher asked the students to write down words spoken aloud to improve their listening and spelling skills.
formal
The act of speaking words aloud for someone else to write down
Students often practice dictation to improve their language skills.
Students frequently write down words spoken by a teacher to enhance their language abilities.
The secretary took dictation from the CEO during the meeting.
The secretary wrote down the CEO's spoken words during the meeting.
Dictation is commonly used in language learning, law, and business settings.
educational
A test or exercise where students write down words spoken aloud by a teacher
The English dictation included 20 words that the students had to spell correctly.
The language test required students to write down 20 words spoken by the teacher to check their spelling accuracy.
Dictations are often used to assess spelling, listening, and writing skills.
Collocations
take dictationwrite down spoken wordspractice dictationengage in writing exercises for spoken wordsdictation exercisea test involving writing down spoken words
Synonyms
Antonyms
Pro Tip
Use dictation for active learning
Dictation exercises help improve listening, spelling, and writing skills simultaneously. Try using them in language learning or note-taking practice.
Gold Rule
Accuracy over speed
Focus on spelling and grammar accuracy during dictation exercises rather than speed.
Word Origin
From Latin dictatio(n-), from dictare 'say often, dictate', frequentative of dicere 'say'.
Usage Notes
Dictation is often used in language learning to improve listening and spelling skills. It can also refer to the process of recording spoken words for later transcription.
Word Breakdown
dict-
from Latin 'dicere' meaning 'to say'
root-ation
suffix forming nouns of action or result
suffixEnglish Dictionary