mime
Americannoun
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the art or technique of portraying a character, mood, idea, or narration by gestures and bodily movements; pantomime.
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an actor who specializes in this art.
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an ancient Greek or Roman farce that depended for effect largely upon ludicrous actions and gestures.
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a player in such a farce.
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a jester, clown, or comedian.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the theatrical technique of expressing an idea or mood or portraying a character entirely by gesture and bodily movement without the use of words
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Also called: mime artist. a performer specializing in such a technique, esp a comic actor
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a dramatic presentation using such a technique
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a comic performance depending for effect largely on exaggerated gesture and physical action
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an actor in such a performance
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verb
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to express (an idea) in actions or gestures without speech
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(of singers or musicians) to perform as if singing (a song) or playing (a piece of music) that is actually prerecorded
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
- mimer noun
Etymology
Origin of mime
1610–20; < Latin mīmus < Greek mîmos imitator, mime, akin to mīmeîsthai to copy, imitate
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.
Yet, these supposedly most-promising stars are mostly hapless wannabes leaning on their skills in nunchucks and mime.
From Los Angeles Times
Ma enjoyed the singing but clearly felt foolish in her feeble miming.
From Literature
Running her hand through her brittle white hair, she mimed heating water on a gas stove to wash herself in the cold mornings.
From Barron's
“I told her the coyote is like a cute wild dog, and her eyes just went—” He mimes eyes exploding open.
From Literature
She recalled how he enjoyed comedy and music, particularly David Bowie, whose songs he would mime along to.
From BBC
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.
