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general::
Phrase(s): 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.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs