entertainer
Americannoun
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entertainers
plural
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a singer, comedian, dancer, reciter, or the like, especially a professional one.
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a person who entertains; host.
She was one of the capital's great entertainers.
noun
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a professional singer, comedian, or other performer who takes part in public entertainments
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any person who entertains
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of entertainer
Explanation
An entertainer is a person whose job or goal is to perform for the amusement of others. If you're an entertainer, you might learn how to tap dance and take singing lessons. If you make your living as a comedian, you're an entertainer. You're also an entertainer if you're a dancer, singer, actor, or puppeteer. In all of these cases, your job is to entertain an audience. You can also call the member of your family who's always trying to make everyone laugh an entertainer. The word comes from the verb entertain, which originally meant "to keep up or maintain," and came to also mean "amuse" in the early 17th century.
Vocabulary lists containing entertainer
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.
See Examples For:
Under Murat Yakin, Switzerland have proved obdurate opponents and have their own entertainer in 20-year-old Johan Mazambi, although he missed their penalty shootout victory over Colombia through injury.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Best and Last’s” flashbacks are a walloping reminder that Knoxville is inimitable: a telegenic and extroverted entertainer with a charisma he wields like a skunk aims its stink.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Children's entertainer Paul Chuckle has said he is "delighted" to be taking part in an upcoming National Theatre tour.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
The longtime prime minister proved to be a better entertainer than he was a builder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
The announcement in the paper states that Hector Bowen, better known as Prospero the Enchanter, entertainer and stage magician of great renown, died of heart failure in his home on the fifteenth of March.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
His commitment to exciting attacking football remained, signing entertainers such as Eyal Berkovic and Ali Benarbia.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Tom Dreesen’s legacy will live on through the laughter he created, the barriers he helped break, the entertainers he inspired, and the countless lives he touched.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Big personalities like Rousey and Conor McGregor helped him do it: both great fighters in their own right, both polarizing entertainers capable of generating big headlines.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026
Bradley got work dancing at Connie’s Inn, the exclusive Harlem black-and-tan club where the draw for white patrons was bootleg liquor and black entertainers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
There were a lot of entertainers and musicians who came through there and many times I heard them remark to the boss, “Rocky, you’re taking a chance having this underage white girl working here.”
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
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.
