Entertaiment is an activity or event that provides enjoyment and amusement. Examples of entertainment include watching movies, playing video games, and attending sports events or live theater. It can also be an intellectual pursuit such as reading novels or poetry or an artistic endeavor such as painting or sculpture.
The word entertainment is from late 15c., “to hold together, support” (with inter- from Latin inter- “among” and tenir from Latin tenere, from PIE root *ten- “to stretch”) + sense of “gratify, amuse.” The suffix -ment is a common one for forming nouns from verb stems, as in amazement, betterment, and merriment.
A man whose job it is to amuse people who attend shows is an entertainer. Dan has a lot of stereo entertainment equipment in his room. The book entertained the children, but did not entertain the grown-ups. Entertainment can be provided on any scale, from an individual choosing a personal entertainment from the vast array of pre-recorded products; to a dinner adapted for two; to performances intended for thousands.