Definitions for Entertainment
ˌɛn tərˈteɪn məntEnter·tain·ment

Princeton's WordNet(3.83 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. entertainment, amusementnoun

   an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention

Wiktionary(2.83 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. entertainmentnoun

   An activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience, no matter whether the audience participates passively as in watching opera or a movie, or actively as in games.

2. entertainmentnoun

   a show put on for the enjoyment or amusement of others

3. entertainmentnoun

   maintenance or support

4. entertainmentnoun

   Admission into service; service.

5. entertainmentnoun

   Payment of soldiers or servants; wages.

6. Etymology: From entretenement; see entertain.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Entertainmentnoun

   Etymology: from entertain.

   1. Conversation.2. Treatment at the table; convivial provision.

   Arrived there, the little house they fill,
   Ne look for entertainment where none was;
   Rest is their feast, and all things at their will;
   The noblest mind the best contentment has. Fairy Queen.

   With British bounty in his ship he feasts
   Th’ Hesperian princes, his amazed guests,
   To find that watry wilderness exceed
   The entertainment of their great Madrid. Edmund Waller.

   3. Hospitable reception.4. Reception; admission.

   It is not easy to imagine how it should at first gain entertainment, but much more difficult to conceive how it should be universally propagated. John Tillotson, Sermon 1.

   5. The state of being in pay as soldiers or servants.

   Have you an army ready, say you? ———— A most royal one. The centurions and their charges distinctly billeted, already in the entertainment, and to be on foot at an hour’s warning. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   6. Payment of soldiers or servants. Now obsolete.

   The entertainment of the general, upon his first arrival, was but six shillings and eight pence. John Davies, on Ireland.

   The captains did covenant with the king to serve him with certain numbers of men, for certain wages and entertainments. John Davies, on Ireland.

   7. Amusement; diversion.

   Because he that knoweth least is fittest to ask questions, it is more reason, for the entertainment of the time, that he ask me questions than that I ask you. Francis Bacon, New Atlantis.

   Passions ought to be our servants, and not our masters; to give us some agitation for entertainment, but never to throw reason out of its seat. William Temple.

   8. Dramatick performance; the lower comedy.

   A great number of dramatick entertainments are not comedies, but five-act farces. John Gay, What d’ye Call it. Pref. to.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Entertainment

   Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention. Although people's attention is held by different things because individuals have different preferences, most forms of entertainment are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry that records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to a banquet adapted for two; to any size or type of party, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience. The experience of being entertained has come to be strongly associated with amusement, so that one common understanding of the idea is fun and laughter, although many entertainments have a serious purpose. This may be the case in the various forms of ceremony, celebration, religious festival, or satire for example. Hence, there is the possibility that what appears as entertainment may also be a means of achieving insight or intellectual growth. An important aspect of entertainment is the audience, which turns a private recreation or leisure activity into entertainment. The audience may have a passive role, as in the case of persons watching a play, opera, television show, or film; or the audience role may be active, as in the case of games, where the participant/audience roles may be routinely reversed. Entertainment can be public or private, involving formal, scripted performance, as in the case of theatre or concerts; or unscripted and spontaneous, as in the case of children's games. Most forms of entertainment have persisted over many centuries, evolving due to changes in culture, technology, and fashion for example with stage magic. Films and video games, for example, although they use newer media, continue to tell stories, present drama, and play music. Festivals devoted to music, film, or dance allow audiences to be entertained over a number of consecutive days. Some entertainment, such as public executions, are now illegal in most countries. Activities such as fencing or archery, once used in hunting or war, have become spectator sports. In the same way, other activities, such as cooking, have developed into performances among professionals, staged as global competitions and then broadcast for entertainment. What is entertainment for one group or individual may be regarded as work or an act of cruelty by another. The familiar forms of entertainment have the capacity to cross over different media and have demonstrated a seemingly unlimited potential for creative remix. This has ensured the continuity and longevity of many themes, images, and structures.

Webster Dictionary(2.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Entertainmentnoun

   the act of receiving as host, or of amusing, admitting, or cherishing; hospitable reception; also, reception or treatment, in general

2. Entertainmentnoun

   that which entertains, or with which one is entertained; as: (a) Hospitality; hospitable provision for the wants of a guest; especially, provision for the table; a hospitable repast; a feast; a formal or elegant meal. (b) That which engages the attention agreeably, amuses or diverts, whether in private, as by conversation, etc., or in public, by performances of some kind; amusement

3. Entertainmentnoun

   admission into service; service

4. Entertainmentnoun

   payment of soldiers or servants; wages

Freebase(3.60 / 10 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Entertainment

   Entertainment is something that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention. Although people's attention is held by different things, because individuals have different preferences in entertainment, most forms are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry which records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to a banquet adapted for two; to any size or type of party, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience. The experience of being entertained has come to be strongly associated with amusement, so that one common understanding of the idea is fun and laughter, although many entertainments have a serious purpose. This may be the case in the various forms of ceremony, celebration, religious festival, or satire for example. Hence, there is the possibility that what appears as entertainment may also be a means of achieving insight or intellectual growth.

Matched Categories

1. • Diversion

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Entertainment' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4569

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Entertainment' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4167

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Entertainment' in Nouns Frequency: #1694

How to pronounce Entertainment?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Entertainment in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Entertainment in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Entertainment in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of Entertainment in a Sentence

1. Adam Budelli:

   This is LA. The entertainment capital of world where prices for everything are through the roof. This is a perfect storm.

2. Hemant Joshi:

   The strategy continues to be to grab a lion's share of the market ... by integrating several channels of entertainment and communication, they seem to be doing once again here in broadband what they have done earlier in telecom.

3. Jeff McElfresh:

   Given its importance to customers and first responders, we prioritized restoration of wireless service, as of now, 96% of our wireless network is restored, 60% of our business services are restored, and 86% of our consumer broadband and entertainment services are restored. It is our goal to restore all service late today.

4. Wilbur Ross:

   The thing was, it didn't cost the President anything to have that entertainment.

5. Roger Perry:

   It lends itself to that time when there were these large entertainment spaces.

Popularity rank by frequency of use