entertainment

American  

[en-ter-tayn-muhnt] / ˌɛn tərˈteɪn mənt /

noun

• entertainments
  plural

1. the act of entertaining; agreeable occupation for the mind; diversion; amusement.

   Solving the daily crossword puzzle is an entertainment for many.

2. something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, especially a performance of some kind.

   The highlight of the ball was an elaborate entertainment.

3. hospitable provision for the needs and wants of guests.

4. a divertingly adventurous, comic, or picaresque novel.

5. Obsolete. maintenance in service.

---

entertainment British  

/ ˌɛntəˈteɪnmənt /

noun

1. the act or art of entertaining or state of being entertained

2. an act, production, etc, that entertains; diversion; amusement

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonentertainment
  noun
• preentertainment
  noun
• self-entertainment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• entertainments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of entertainment

First recorded in 1525–35; entertain + -ment

Explanation

Entertainment is amusement, usually involving a performance. The clown at a birthday party, a Broadway show, a stadium rock concert, your friends fighting over the last potato chip––these are all forms of entertainment. Entertainment is from the Old French word entretenir meaning hold together or support. It was associated with hospitality––when you entertained a guest, you were keeping them happy. From there, it came to mean amuse or distract. The entertainment is the amusement or the distraction––we talk about theatrical entertainment as shows, visual entertainment as the stuff you like to look at, and audio entertainment as mostly music.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

entertainment entertainments

Far from a traditional agricultural structure, the barn has been transformed into an entertainment and creative hub, complete with a grand bar, video wall, fireplaces, a game room, gym, and catering kitchen.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

"Mordechai David channels their belligerence into political expression and entertainment."

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

And live sport - and entertainment - is one of the few industries whose financial success is unlikely to be significantly compromised by artificial intelligence in the coming years.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

But streaming platforms now rival, and in some cases, surpass broadcast TV as a go-to form of entertainment, particularly among the younger viewers that the TV Academy hopes to engage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Plate holders stood by the fireplace, filled with dishes and plates; knives, forks and spoons were arranged for immediate use; in short, everything was ready for the entertainment of a ceremonious party.”

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Today, dragons and dungeon crawls are common entertainments.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

"Christmas football was originally rooted in a wider tradition of communal entertainments," Professor Martin Johnes of Swansea University told BBC Sport.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

The acting is fine, the characters generally endearing, and anyone familiar with local theater—or even just entertainments about local theater—will know the types.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

The queen of all she surveys, she speaks in moony aphorisms, is posing for Vanity Fair and orchestrating a fundraising gala, among minor entertainments.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2025

Bilbo Baggins called it a party, but it was really a variety of entertainments rolled into one.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien