entertainment

American  

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

noun

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.

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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

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

Katie Proctor, manager of variety entertainment at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said she was particularly impressed by how one performer handled a technical issue gracefully.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

The reason was because someone else already had the rights: the entertainment company FilmNation.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

A daily crowd of 15,000 will have space to watch matches and sample local food and entertainment at Philadelphia's Lemon Hill.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

Partially because when it comes to budgeting, I actually don’t think the amount of money you allocate toward groceries and gas and entertainment is all that different from your partnered peers.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

He reached into a cabinet of the entertainment center and pulled out a cordless phone.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix