dictation

Plural: dictations

Noun

• an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
• speech intended for reproduction in writing
• matter that has been dictated and transcribed; a dictated passage
  • "he signed and mailed his dictation without bothering to read it"
• Dictating, the process of speaking for someone else to write down the words.
• An activity in school where the teacher reads a passage aloud and the students write it down.
• The act of ordering or commanding.
• Orders given in an overbearing manner.

Examples

• His habit, even with friends, was that of dictation.
• Since I learned shorthand, I can take dictation at eighty words a minute.

Synonyms

bid, bidding, command