- present participle of entertain.
entertaining
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of entertaining
Explanation
Things that are entertaining are enjoyable and distracting. Going to the circus is an entertaining way to spend an afternoon. Activities like playing games and watching movies can be entertaining, and you can also describe a friend who's particularly funny or fun to be with as entertaining. The adjective comes from the related verb, entertain, which meant "keep up, maintain, or keep someone in a certain frame of mind" in the fifteenth century. It comes from the Old French entretenir, "hold together."
Vocabulary lists containing entertaining
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.
Situated on nearly 4 acres, the 1740 home features five bedrooms, a pond and plenty of space for entertaining.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
An entertaining left-handed batter, Sobers scored 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958 - an effort which stood as the record Test score for 36 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
“We’re entertaining an audience approaching a billion people with still lots of room to grow into our addressable market on every measure,” said Spencer Neumann, Netflix’s chief financial officer, in the earnings presentation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Now, as we find ourselves deep in the season of simple summer entertaining — and still, always, keeping budgets in mind — I want to give the form a little more appreciation.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
Duane assured the fox that he would explain everything and that it might even make an entertaining story to tell while eating sorbets, tarts, and aplomb.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
