pantomime

plural pantomimes

1. archaiccountableuncountableA Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.First known use 17th c.

   [He] saw a pantomime perform so well that he could follow the performance from the action alone.

   1865, Edward Burnett Tylor, Researches into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of Civilization

2. Ancient RomecountableuncountableAncient GreeceThe drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.First known use 17th c.
3. UKcountableuncountableA traditional theatrical entertainment, originally based on the commedia dell'arte, but later aimed mostly at children and involving physical comedy, topical jokes, call and response, and fairy-tale plots.First known use 18th c.

   With the Stoke supporters jeering Ziv's every subsequent touch, the pantomime atmosphere created by the home crowd reached a crescendo when Ziv was shown a straight red shortly after the break in extraordinary circumstances.

   2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 12 Sep 2015

   1 more example

   Wilson is no stranger to pantoland: “I have fun memories of seeing pantomimes in Australia when I was a kid. They were on at our local Returned and Services League club – my relatives fought in the wars. My mum also said that when I was two, she took me to my first pantomime in Sydney.

   2025 November 28, Hollie Richardson, “Oh yes he is! Kiefer Sutherland dives into the world of panto”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 02 Dec 2025

   Synonyms: panto

4. countableuncountableThe act of gesturing without speaking; a dumb-show, a mime.First known use 18th c.

   In pantomime, Chief Joyi would fling his spear and creep along the veld as he narrated the victories and defeats.

   1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 26

   1 more example

   A staid, steadfast man, whose life for the most part was a telling pantomime of action, and not a tame chapter of sounds.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 26”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC

present singular third person pantomimes · participle present pantomiming · participle past pantomimed · past pantomimed

1. transitiveTo make (a gesture) without speaking.

   I pantomimed steering a car; he understood, and tossed the keys to me.

2. transitiveTo entertain others by silent gestures or actions.