pantomime

noun

1. (archaic, countable, uncountable)A 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. (Ancient-Rome, countable, uncountable)The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.
3. (UK, countable, uncountable)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. (countable, uncountable)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.”

verb

1. (transitive)To make (a gesture) without speaking.

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

2. (transitive)To entertain others by silent gestures or actions.