pantomime

1 of 2

noun

pan·​to·​mime ˈpan-tə-ˌmīm 

1

: pantomimist

2

a

: an ancient Roman dramatic performance featuring a solo dancer and a narrative chorus

b

: any of various dramatic or dancing performances in which a story is told by expressive bodily or facial movements of the performers

a ballet that is part dance and part pantomime

c

: a British theatrical entertainment of the Christmas season based on a nursery tale and featuring topical songs, tableaux, and dances

3

a

: conveyance of a story by bodily or facial movements especially in drama or dance

b

: the art or genre of conveying a story by bodily movements only

pantomimic

ˌpan-tə-ˈmi-mik 

adjective

pantomime

2 of 2

verb

pantomimed; pantomiming

intransitive verb

: to engage in pantomime

transitive verb

: to represent by pantomime

Synonyms

Noun

• gesticulation
• gesture
• mime
• sign
• signal

Examples of pantomime in a Sentence

Noun

In the game of charades, one player uses pantomime to represent a word or phrase that the other players have to try to guess.

We saw pantomimes at the fair.

a ballet that is part dance and part pantomime

Verb

He pantomimed someone talking on the phone.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Confirmation that the visitors are firmly in this contest comes midway through the first half via two crunching tackles by Tom O’Connor in quick succession, followed by another from pantomime villain James McClean. —Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 18 Aug. 2024

Trump’s skin looks waxen, his demeanor a pantomime of serious thought. —The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024

Verb

And so a lot of overqualified actors keep getting stuck pantomiming her presence, deliberately evoking Ripley while reminding us what the series lost when its star finally put the feverish space chases behind her. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2024

After calmly letting Larry extrapolate, Jerry pantomimes a short beep. —Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Latin pantomimus, from pant- + mimus mime

First Known Use

Noun

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1768, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

pantomime

noun

pan·​to·​mime

ˈpant-ə-ˌmīm

1

: pantomimist

2

: a performance in which a story is told by expressive movements of the body or face

3

: expression of information by movements of the body or face

pantomime verb