A clown at a birthday party, a Broadway show, or your friends fighting over the last potato chip—they are all forms of entertainment. Entertainment comes from the Old French word entretenir, which means to hold together or support. It’s often associated with hospitality—when we entertain guests, we are keeping them happy. Today, it’s also used to mean amusement or distraction. You can create your own entertainment, such as when you spontaneously invent a game; actively participate in entertainment, such as when you play sport for fun; or passively consume entertainment, such as when you attend a performance.

Click on a collocation below to see more examples.