pantomimenoun/ˈpæn.təˌmʌɪm/

• 1

  archaicA Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.

  • [He] saw a pantomime perform so well that he could follow the performance from the action alone.
• 2

  The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.

• 3

  A 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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
• 4

  The act of gesturing without speaking; a dumb-show, a mime.

  • A staid, steadfast man, whose life for the most part was a telling pantomime of action, and not a tame chapter of sounds.
  • In pantomime, Chief Joyi would fling his spear and creep along the veld as he narrated the victories and defeats.

pantomimeverb/ˈpæn.təˌmʌɪm/

• 1

  To make (a gesture) without speaking.

  • I pantomimed steering a car; he understood, and tossed the keys to me.
• 2

  To entertain others by silent gestures or actions.