The clown at your child’s birthday party, the Broadway show, the stadium rock concert, your friends fighting over the last potato chip—all are examples of entertainment. We use this word to describe any activity that gives people enjoyment and amusement, or distracts them from their everyday problems. Entertainment is an enormous industry, and it includes everything from a one-on-one conversation with a friend to a multibillion-dollar theatrical production. It is also flexible, allowing us to entertain ourselves in many different ways. From Old French entretenir, meaning hold together or support, entertainment evolved to include hospitality and a sense of fun and diversion.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘Entertaiment.’ Views expressed in these examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.