a machine that records spoken words so that they can be played back later for typed transcripts, etc.
noun
any such machine
See Dictaphone in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(dĭkˈtə-fōnˌ)
A trademark used for an apparatus that records and reproduces dictation for transcription. This trademark sometimes occurs in print in lowercase: “There's a dictaphone in the lab, so we're talking as we work”(Chicago Tribune).