Meaning

noun player acts out a phrase for others to guess

noun a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way

noun a word acted out in an episode of the game of charades

originSee charade. As a game, originally a clipped form of acting charades or, without talking, dumb charades but now usually understood as a plurale tantum.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0