pantomime

1 of 2

noun

pan·​to·​mime ˈpan-tə-ˌmīm How to pronounce pantomime (audio)
1
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 adjective

pantomime

2 of 2

verb

pantomimed; pantomiming

intransitive verb

: to engage in pantomime

transitive verb

: to represent by pantomime

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
The misdemeanor that caused Quinones to pantomime fainting: Trayce Jackson-Davis adding Victor Wembanyama to his growing dunk body count. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024 Seconds after the score, Flowers met tight end Isaiah Likely at a pre-arranged spot in the back of the end zone, and the jubilant teammates began an elaborate pantomime. Gwydion Suilebhan, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2024 Sometimes, people’s devotion to their pets starts to pantomime human parenthood—reading them stories, building them custom car seats, or rocking them to sleep for months, all examples Laurent-Simpson has documented in her research. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024 What a pantomime of democracy is this agency that provides water and sewer services to eight towns in greater Hartford and water to parts of four more. Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2024 The bit in question — which involved a pantomime of driving with music blasting — was first performed by Katt in a 1998 appearance on ComicView, then reproduced by Cedric (according to Katt) for his set in Spike Lee’s The Original Kings of Comedy. Eric Spitznagel, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2024 The script is as subtle as a bonk on the nose, and the editing repeats every beat twice-over in broad pantomime and meaningful looks. Amy Nicholson, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2023 Keystone was known for its slapstick comedies, and pantomime was more Chaplin’s comic genre. Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023 Scott later learned that this was a pantomime: his grandfather didn’t know how to read. Robert Samuels, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2023
Verb
As Myers’ tribute video played, Green pantomimed a hugging motion while standing on the court. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 Earlier this month, another contestant mockingly pantomimed speaking Chinese, and poked fun at Ku’s mother’s Chinese name, in a display many fans found openly racist and xenophobic. Lautaro Grinspan, NBC News, 2 Feb. 2024 Only on Tubi do actors fail at pantomiming basic human behavior. Niela Orr, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024 Known for his sense of humor, Dempsey would entertain fans during rain delays, pantomiming baseball sequences. Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2024 After his first catch of the second half in the NFC Championship Game — a 26-yard strike over the middle — Samuel got up and sent the message to the whole world, pantomiming eating. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2024 MacGowan pantomimed his first verse at a piano, mouthing the lyrics as MacColl gazed seemingly lovingly at him. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2023 Perhaps most upsetting, though, was the pose taken by a professor — a well-meaning white man who pantomimed a big, warm bear hug. Selome Hailu, Variety, 16 Nov. 2023 Ellams and Magar take the approach of showing and telling: The actors describe, say, a race between the gods or a basketball final, while also pantomiming it. Vulture, 31 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pantomime.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of pantomime was in 1606

Dictionary Entries Near pantomime

Cite this Entry

“Pantomime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pantomime. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pantomime

noun
pan·​to·​mime
ˈpant-ə-ˌmīm
1
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

More from Merriam-Webster on pantomime

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