A clown at a birthday party, a Broadway show, stadium rock music, your friends fighting over the last potato chip—all of these are forms of entertainment. From the Old French entretenir, which is related to hospitality, it came to mean amuse or distract. It can be a form of art, but more often it is the product of art—that is, of the cultural industry that encompasses all of the things that keep us entertained. Click on a collocation to see more examples.
Entertaiment is part of our everyday lives and it is a key factor in keeping society happy. But it also has the power to shape and create new meanings.