the art or technique of portraying a character, mood, idea, or narration by gestures and bodily movements; pantomime.
an actor who specializes in this art.
an ancient Greek or Roman farce that depended for effect largely upon ludicrous actions and gestures.
a player in such a farce.
a jester, clown, or comedian.
to mimic.
to act in mime.
the theatrical technique of expressing an idea or mood or portraying a character entirely by gesture and bodily movement without the use of words
Also called: mime artist. a performer specializing in such a technique, esp a comic actor
a dramatic presentation using such a technique
a comic performance depending for effect largely on exaggerated gesture and physical action
an actor in such a performance
to express (an idea) in actions or gestures without speech
(of singers or musicians) to perform as if singing (a song) or playing (a piece of music) that is actually prerecorded
1610–20; < Latin mīmus < Greek mîmos imitator, mime, akin to mīmeîsthai to copy, imitate
A mime is a performer who uses exaggerated facial expressions and body movements — instead of words — to communicate with his audience. You may have seen a mime pretending she's trapped in an invisible box, using gestures to make it appear that she is pushing against walls and a ceiling. Many mimes also wear clown-like makeup, wear simple clothing, and refuse to speak. You can use the word mime as a verb as well, to describe what you do when you imitate your least favorite teacher for the amusement of your friends. The Greek root word is mimos, "imitator, actor, or buffoon."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During live shoots, however, background actors stay silent and mime their conversations, “a skill set in and of itself,” Gemmill says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
She says she has found a creative outlet in the form of dance, and wants to study dance, mime and physical theatre, but is struggling to find a course she can access.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2025
It was a typical day on the set of Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” and a dead mime was screaming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024
Maybe that mime on the beach who nearly drowned.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2024
If post-prom Jessie texts like my bubbe, post-prom Ethan texts like a mime.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
He fidgets with a pair of eyeglasses and points a knobby index finger to underscore a point, jiggles his leg restlessly and, at one point, mimes playing guitar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
We watch on the monitors as Bruccoleri perfectly mimes the piano along to a track and unleashes out-of-tune vocals that are horribly dour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Bogotá’s unorthodox mayor, Antanas Mockus—who rose to fame after mooning student protesters and deployed mimes to control traffic—viewed the activity as a gambit “to achieve self-regulation in the behavior among citizens.”
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024
Perhaps in a different place, the emergence of mimes on the street looking to earn a few dollars might go unnoticed.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2024
“I told her the coyote is like a cute wild dog, and her eyes just went—” He mimes eyes exploding open.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
One audience member closed her eyes and mimed conducting as the artists played Mozart, while another tapped her caregiver's arm as if there were piano keys.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
He mimed falling asleep at the question and said he hadn’t heard about it.
From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2026
After a couple of successful kicks, Matsuzawa even mimed a swing from another spectacular Japanese athlete who wears No. 17: Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
He pretended his group were teenagers from Chester, who mimed along to the video for the song.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2025
Resa mimed taking a knife from her belt, looking so grim that Dustfinger almost laughed out loud.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Son put his finger to his lips in the universal “shhh” sign and then did his patented camera celebration — click! — miming a snapshot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Alicia Washington’s direction was clear, though she was understandably flummoxed about how to stage musician characters who don’t play their instruments and resorted to miming and posing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025
"He was pretty much non-verbal by that point but, when he heard that, he pointed at himself as if to say 'that's mine' and was miming the words," she says.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2025
Ward lobbed one up for receiver Kyle Williams, who beat cornerback Travis Hunter so thoroughly that he immediately held up his wrist, miming CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ signature celebration.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023
Mom stared at the ceiling, miming perplexed thought.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
