pantomime
Americannoun
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pantomimes
plural
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the art or technique of conveying emotions, actions, feelings, etc., by gestures without speech.
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a play or entertainment in which the performers express themselves mutely by gestures, often to the accompaniment of music.
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significant gesture without speech.
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an actor in dumb show, as in ancient Rome.
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Also called Christmas pantomime. a form of theatrical spectacle common in England during the Christmas season, generally adapted from a fairy tale and including stock character types who perform songs and dances, tell jokes, etc.
verb (used with object)
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pantomimes,
present (3rd person singular)
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pantomimed,
past participle, past
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pantomiming
present participle
verb (used without object)
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pantomimes,
present (3rd person singular)
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pantomimed,
past participle, past
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pantomiming
present participle
noun
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Sometimes shortened to: panto. a kind of play performed at Christmas time characterized by farce, music, lavish sets, stock roles, and topical jokes
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( as modifier )
a pantomime horse
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a theatrical entertainment in which words are replaced by gestures and bodily actions
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action without words as a means of expression
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(in ancient Rome) an actor in a dumb show
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informal a confused or farcical situation
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pantomimicrynoun
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pantomimistnoun
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pantomimicadjective
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pantomimicaladjective
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pantomimicallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pantomimesimple
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pantomimessimple
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have pantomimedperfect
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has pantomimedperfect
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am pantomimingprogressive
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are pantomimingprogressive
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is pantomimingprogressive
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have been pantomimingperfect progressive
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has been pantomimingperfect progressive
Past
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pantomimedsimple
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had pantomimedperfect
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was pantomimingprogressive
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were pantomimingprogressive
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had been pantomimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pantomime
1580–90; earlier pantomimus < Latin < Greek pantómīmos. See panto-, mime
Explanation
If you make a motion with your hands to indicate eating ice cream, you are using pantomime. Parents often use this wordless communication to try to keep things from the kids. Unfortunately, the kids usually catch on quickly — especially if there is ice cream involved. An entire show, done without words is often called a pantomime, but around December, you may read about a Christmas pantomime. This is a traditional holiday show in the United Kingdom. The play is usually based on a fairy tale, and it is put on especially for children. Although it is called a pantomime or panto, the show actually includes talking, jokes, and music. The tradition goes back to the 1700s and is still popular today.
Vocabulary lists containing pantomime
Of Mice and Men
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Tangerine
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Christopher Luscombe’s production of “The Magic Flute” wittily transformed Mozart’s Singspiel into a British pantomime, a closely related theatrical tradition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Argentina are so often painted as the pantomime villains of international football - particularly by England fans.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
As well as the pantomime Aladdie at Cumbernauld Theatre, Forbes Masson also has plans for a number of new productions, which, like The High Life: The Musical, will be homegrown and for a Scottish audience.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
"We started with Michael Boyd at the Tron pantomime and we wanted to get the essence of that postmodern, Scottish music hall culture and put it on a big stage," he says.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
For such persons, being a butler is like playing some pantomime role; a small push, a slight stumble, and the facade will drop off to reveal the actor underneath.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Kingsley pantomimes resisting repeated entreaties amid the cacophony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
His characters may be confined by their circumstances but their imaginations are set free in theatrical games, pantomimes and nostalgic reveries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025
She also did her fair share of pantomimes before her musical theatre career kicked off with a part alongside Paul O'Grady in Prisoner Cell Block H: The Musical.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2025
She is since making ends meet, including by singing in Chinese restaurants and performing in pantomimes for work.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024
She pantomimes gardening gestures at me and taps her index finger on an imaginary watch.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
First, there’s a pantomimed back story: During the overture, actors depicting the lovers as young teens flirt and are discouraged by adults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Reporters tried at least four more times to get Sanders to answer similar questions, eliciting only a similar pantomimed response.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
The first prospect pantomimed pushing a bar away from his chest until his arms looked “locked out,” as if they couldn’t extend further.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 28, 2022
Gone are the white gloves and the pantomimed motions of slaves at work as Jefferson arrives at Monticello; now some members of the ensemble stand at a distance, and don’t even join in the singing.
From New York Times ● Oct. 23, 2021
Then Dad winked at me and pantomimed weeping like a baby.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was then Iran’s foreign minister, would sometimes retreat to the back of the room during the nuclear talks and put his head in his hands, pantomiming despair.
From Slate ● May 1, 2026
You may find yourself pantomiming with one of your feet to your children in the persona of “Mr. Stinkyfoot,” a somewhat boorish Frenchman who espouses the importance of cleanliness and the needs for a bath.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
In most films, the background actors are pantomiming.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2024
After the Heat called a timeout, a courtside fan near the Celtics’ bench could be seen pantomiming fanning White on the sideline.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
“Sir, how about you pat our heads down like this to check. That’s how they do it in the United States,” my mother said, pantomiming with her hands.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
