entertainment

American  

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

noun

1. the act of entertaining; 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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

• nonentertainment noun
• preentertainment noun
• self-entertainment noun

Etymology

Origin of entertainment

First recorded in 1525–35; entertain + -ment

Example Sentences

Paramount Skydance is betting its future on its streaming business, as gains at the media and entertainment company’s Paramount+ platform helped boost earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025.

From Los Angeles Times

Among those let go is Dean Richards, WGN’s long time entertainment reporter and critic who has been a fixture at Hollywood press junkets.

From Los Angeles Times

A spokesperson for Beast Industries, the entertainment company founded by MrBeast, said it "has no tolerance for this behaviour, whether by contestants or our own employees".

From BBC

As the series unfurled, proving to a skeptical entertainment industry that women can be compelling antiheroes too, much of that talk revolved around Byrne.

From Los Angeles Times

Amalfitano, who spent his career in entertainment booking and DJing, had long booked music shows in venues across Los Angeles under the Midnight Hour Social Club.

From Los Angeles Times