dictate to

dictate to (one)

1. To speak to one who will reproduce the message in a written document. I just finished dictating that memo to my secretary, and she is typing it up right now. Can you dictate everyone's orders, while I write them down? You don't really dictate to a court stenographer—they more so just take notes the whole time.

2. To exert control over someone or something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "dictate" and "to." Don't try to dictate the terms of this contract to me! I have a say in it, too, you know. You may be my boyfriend, but I refuse to let you dictate to me what I do on a daily basis. Your job is going to dictate your hours to you—and, because it's shift work, those hours will always be changing.

See also: dictate, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

dictate (something) to someone

 

1. to speak out words to someone who writes them down; to speak words into a recording device to be written down later by someone. Walter dictated a letter to his secretary. Please come in so I can dictate to you.

2. to lay out or spell out the exact terms of something to someone; to act as a dictator. You can't dictate the rules to us. Please don't dictate to me.

See also: dictate, to

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

dictate to

v.

1. To say or read something aloud to someone, especially for it to be written down or notated: The executive dictated the letter to the secretary.

2. To issue orders or commands to someone: The manager dictated the new company policy to the staff.

See also: dictate, to

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.