Entertainment
noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An activity designed to give pleasure, enjoyment, diversion, amusement, or relaxation to an audience, no matter whether the audience participates passively as in watching opera or a movie, or actively as in games. countable, uncountable
"The delinquents are generally the adventurous type, who have little use for reading and other non-active entertainment."
- 2 an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention wordnet
- 3 A show put on for the enjoyment or amusement of others. countable, uncountable
- 4 Maintenance or support. countable, obsolete, uncountable
""This," said the matronly presence, ushering me into a low room on the right, "is where the Travellers sit by the fire, and cook what bits of suppers they buy with their fourpences." "O! Then they have no Entertainment?" said I. For the inscription over the outer door was still running in my head, and I was mentally repeating, in a kind of tune, "Lodging, entertainment, and fourpence each.""
- 5 An admission into service; a service. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"He must think us some band of strangers i' the adversary's entertainment."
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- 6 The payment of soldiers or servants; wages. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The entertainment of the general upon his first arrival was but six shillings and eight pence."
- 7 A reception; a (provision of) food to guests or travellers. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"I prithee, shepherd, if that love or gold Can in this desert place buy entertainment, Bring us where we may rest ourselves and feed."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Australians excel at sports and entertainment."
Etymology
From Middle English entretenement (“support, maintenance”), from Old French entretenement; see entertain. Morphologically entertain + -ment.
Related phrases
More for "entertainment"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.