entertain

verb en·ter·tain \ ˌen-tər-ˈtān \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of entertain

transitive verb

1 a archaic : maintain

b obsolete : receive

2 : to show hospitality to

entertain guests

3 a : to keep, hold, or maintain in the mind

I entertain grave doubts about her sincerity

b : to receive and take into consideration

refused to entertain our plea

4 : to provide entertainment for

5 : to play against (an opposing team) on one's home field or court

intransitive verb

: to provide entertainment especially for guests

—

entertainer

noun

See entertain defined for English-language learners

See entertain defined for kids

Examples of entertain in a Sentence

They like to entertain their friends at their summer home.
Much of his job as a salesman involves entertaining clients.
Jugglers were on hand to entertain the crowd.
Our father entertained us with stories.
Our father's stories entertained us.

Recent Examples of entertain from the Web

Aramis Babcock, 19, is one of the students from UTSA’s Honors College who conceived, researched and designed what is essentially a toy to entertain the zoo’s three pachyderms, Lucky, Karen and Nicole.

— vincent t. davis, San Antonio Express-News, "Elephants at Zoo receive enrichment project from UTSA Honors College students," 10 Apr. 2018
Several times a year, its executives entertain business partners — or prospective business partners — by bringing them to Ridge to tour the vineyards and taste wine.

— rebecca robbins, STAT, "The strange story of a global pharma company’s Silicon Valley winery," 9 Apr. 2018
Friston’s arguments had been pulling him toward simplicity—he was now prepared to entertain the idea that predictive processing was a high-level neat system that orchestrated biological scruffiness below.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "The Mind-Expanding Ideas of Andy Clark," 26 Mar. 2018
This game failed to entertain, but Kemba Walker sure did.

— rick bonnell, charlotteobserver, "What record did Kemba Walker break in the Charlotte Hornets’ blowout win? | Charlotte Observer," 22 Mar. 2018
But the larger problem was that Reagan was willing to entertain the idea but didn’t have either the knowledge or drive to advance it.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "The Bittersweetness of a Rogue President," 12 Mar. 2018
Seemingly addressing his alleged charisma, Trump spoke highly of his own ability to entertain a crowd.

— hannah smothers, Cosmopolitan, "8 'Wait, REALLY?' Moments From Trump's Pennsylvania Rally," 11 Mar. 2018
But the incident involving the horse this week may not have been the first time the club has employed live animals to entertain its clientele.

— CBS News, "Miami Beach club's stunt involving horse, bikini-clad woman sparks outcry, probe," 10 Mar. 2018
The two came back to the area Saturday to entertain at the parade.

— gloria casas, Elgin Courier-News, "East Dundee goes green for annual St. Patrick's Day parade," 10 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'entertain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of entertain

Middle English entertinen, from Middle French entretenir, from entre- inter- + tenir to hold — more at tenable

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

entertain Synonyms

Synonyms

amuse, disport, divert, regale, solace;

Near Antonyms

bore, jade;

drain, enervate, exhaust, fatigue, tire, wear, wear out, weary;

aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, chafe, disturb, exasperate, fret, gall, grate, harass, harry, irk, nettle, peeve, perturb, pester, pique, upset, vex;

beguile, bewitch, captivate, charm, delight, enchant, enthrall (or enthral), fascinate;

grip, hypnotize, intrigue, mesmerize;

coddle, gratify, humor, indulge, mollycoddle, pamper, please, pleasure, spoil;

appease, comfort, conciliate, console, content, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, propitiate, soothe;

Synonym Discussion of entertain

amuse, divert, entertain mean to pass or cause to pass the time pleasantly. amuse suggests that one's attention is engaged lightly.

- amuse yourselves while I make dinner

divert implies distracting attention from worry or routine occupation especially by something funny.

- a light comedy to divert the tired businessman

entertain suggests supplying amusement by specially contrived methods.

- a magician entertaining children at a party

ENTERTAIN Defined for English Language Learners

entertain

verb

Definition of entertain for English Language Learners

: to have people as guests in your home or in a public place (such as a restaurant)
: to perform for (an audience) : to provide amusement for (someone) by singing, acting, etc.
: to provide or be entertainment for (someone)