entertainment
Americannoun
-
the act of entertaining; agreeable occupation for the mind; diversion; amusement.
Solving the daily crossword puzzle is an entertainment for many.
-
something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, especially a performance of some kind.
The highlight of the ball was an elaborate entertainment.
-
hospitable provision for the needs and wants of guests.
-
a divertingly adventurous, comic, or picaresque novel.
-
Obsolete. maintenance in service.
noun
-
the act or art of entertaining or state of being entertained
-
an act, production, etc, that entertains; diversion; amusement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of entertainment
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.
Vocabulary lists containing entertainment
Media Literacy - High School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Media Literacy - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Media Literacy - Introductory
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
"Rockstar has always had its finger on the pulse of music, entertainment, societal, political, celebrity, and online culture trends, and they've never shied away from satirising these things in GTA games," she said.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
The entertainment industry has offered a palatable way for viewers to digest the horrors of the institution, without confronting either its banality or its larger implications.
From Salon • Jun. 19, 2026
Sometimes, she finds herself in the center of that entertainment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
Here are some great options for evening entertainment.
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026
He transformed Yakov’s death into cheap, pulpy entertainment with his lurid descriptions.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
