- [uncountable]
the act of speaking or reading so that somebody can write down the words or they can be recorded 口述 Her secretary is very good at taking dictation. 她的秘书很擅长做口授记录。 - from dictation
I find it difficult to write letters from dictation. 我觉得听别人口授写信很不容易。 - at somebody's dictation
I wrote some letters at his dictation. 由他口授我写了几封信。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + dictation- do
- give somebody
- take
- …
- in a/the dictation
- [countable, uncountable]
a test in which students write down what is being read to them, especially in language lessons 听写 The teacher gave them a dictation. 老师让他们听写。 We did a French dictation in class. 课堂上我们进行了法语听写。 We had some very difficult words in our dictation. 听写时我们遇到了些很难的单词。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + dictation- do
- give somebody
- take
- …
- in a/the dictation
Word Originmid 17th cent. originally meaning the action of giving orders : from late Latin dictatio(n-), from the verb dictare.