entertainment

noun

en·​ter·​tain·​ment ˌen-tər-ˈtān-mənt 

1

a

: amusement or diversion provided especially by performers

hired a band to provide entertainment

b

: something diverting or engaging: such as

(1)

: a public performance

(2)

: a usually light comic or adventure novel

2

: the act of entertaining

3

a

archaic : maintenance, provision

b

obsolete : employment

Synonyms

• amusement
• distraction
• diversion
• recreation

Examples of entertainment in a Sentence

Entertainment was provided by jugglers.

plays, movies, and other forms of entertainment

They played games in the evening for entertainment.

plays, movies, and other entertainments

Recent Examples on the Web

The more than 90,000 daily visitors at the 2025 event spend time mixing both tennis and entertainment across the nearly 100-acre festival atmosphere. —Tim Newcomb, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

For now, the focus is on entertainment partners across video, television, books and more. —Sara Fischer, Axios, 16 Jan. 2025

The venue successfully sued the city in 2021 over the city’s attempt to impose a 2 a.m. last call for alcohol in the South Beach entertainment district — a ruling handed down by the same judge, Butchko Sanchez. —Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2025

In the case of Nintendo, that includes some of the entertainment industry’s best intellectual property, including the world of Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong, and others. —Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Phrases Containing entertainment

• entertainment value
• non-entertainment

Kids Definition

entertainment

noun

en·​ter·​tain·​ment ˌen-tər-ˈtān-mənt 

1

: the act or process of providing pleasure, recreation, or amusement

2

: a means of amusement or recreation

especially : a public performance