singing popular songs accompanied by a recording of an orchestra (usually in bars or nightclubs)
"The crowd cheered as the singer belted out a famous pop song while the live band mimed playing along to the pre-recorded orchestral track."
A form of entertainment popular in clubs, at parties, etc, in which individual members of the public sing along to pre-recorded instrumental versions of popular songs, the lyrics of which are displayed for the singer on a screen in time with the music.
"The crowd cheered as we took turns singing our favorite hits during the lively karaoke session at the club's open mic night."
In plain English: Karaoke is when people sing along to recorded music without an instrument while someone else plays it for them.
"They went to karaoke after work to sing their favorite songs with friends."
Usage: Karaoke refers specifically to singing live over recorded instrumentals rather than performing original songs or playing instruments yourself. It is commonly used as a mass noun for the activity itself (e.g., "We went karaoke") and does not take an article when referring to the general concept, though you can say "a karaoke session" if describing a specific event.
to perform karaoke
"We went to a lively bar last night where everyone took turns performing karaoke on the main stage."
The word karaoke comes from the Japanese phrase kara-oke, which literally means "empty orchestra." It was coined by combining kara ("empty") with a shortened form of ōkesutora, itself borrowed from the English word for an ensemble of musicians.