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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

mime.

A form of acting without words; pantomime.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/maɪm//miːm/obsolete
  1. A form of acting without words; pantomime.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A pantomime actor.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A classical theatrical entertainment in the form of farce.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A performer of such a farce.

    countable · uncountable
  5. A person who mimics others in a comical manner.

    countable · uncountable
  6. Any of various papilionid butterflies of the genus Chilasa or Papilio, that mimic other species in appearance.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A unit of imitation in the theory of symbiosism.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Possibly from Middle English mime, from Old English mīma (“a buffoon, jester, mime”), from Latin mimus, from Ancient Greek μῖμος (mîmos, “imitator, actor”), but more likely re-borrowed in modern times from French mime (“mimic actor”), from the same source.

verb/maɪm//miːm/obsolete
  1. To mimic.

  2. To act without words.

    intransitive
  3. To represent an action or object through gesture, without the use of sound.

    In this game, you're given a word, which you have to mime to the others in the group.
Where this word comes from

Possibly from Middle English mime, from Old English mīma (“a buffoon, jester, mime”), from Latin mimus, from Ancient Greek μῖμος (mîmos, “imitator, actor”), but more likely re-borrowed in modern times from French mime (“mimic actor”), from the same source.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.