entertainment

Definition

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.

Etymology

From Middle English entretenement (“support, maintenance”), from Old French entretenement; see entertain. Morphologically entertain + -ment.

Example Sentences

• "The delinquents are generally the adventurous type, who have little use for reading and other non-active entertainment."
• "Such abundance must be laid out on superfluous recreations, buildings, ornaments, furniture, equipage, attendants, entertainments, visitations, braveries, and a world of need-nots […]"
• ""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.""