entertainverb
uk/en.təˈteɪn/us/en.t̬ɚˈteɪn/entertain verb (AMUSE)
B1 [ I or T ] to keep a group of people interested or enjoying themselves:
We hired a magician to entertain the children.
Most children's television programmes aim to educate and entertain at the same time.
More examples
- Milligan's anarchic humour has always had the power to offend as well as entertain.
- Year after year they wheel out the same third-rate celebrities to entertain us.
- Should the function of children's television be to entertain or to enlighten?
- The crowd was entertained with a display of aerobatics.
- The crowds were once again entertained by the number one tennis player's antics on and off the court.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Celebrating & entertaining
- a good time was had by all idiom
- amuse
- amused
- bacchanalian
- banquet
- entertaining
- go to town idiom
- have a whale of a time idiom
- host
- kill
- kill the fatted calf idiom
- let your hair down idiom
- perform
- push
- revelry
- scintillate
- see in the New Year idiom
- spirit
- take sb out of himself/herself
- town
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Causing pleasure
entertain verb (INVITE)
[ I or T ] to invite someone to your home and give food and drink to them:
We entertain a lot of people, mainly business associates of my wife's.
Now that I live on my own, I don't entertain much.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Celebrating & entertaining
- a good time was had by all idiom
- amuse
- amused
- bacchanalian
- banquet
- entertaining
- go to town idiom
- have a whale of a time idiom
- host
- kill
- kill the fatted calf idiom
- let your hair down idiom
- perform
- push
- revelry
- scintillate
- see in the New Year idiom
- spirit
- take sb out of himself/herself
- town
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entertain verb (THINK ABOUT)
[ T not continuous ] formal to hold something in your mind or to be willing to consider or accept something:
The General refused to entertain the possibility of defeat.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Thinking and contemplating
- -ly
- agonize over/about sth
- chew
- chew sth over
- chew the cud idiom
- chew your cud idiom
- depth
- lateral thinking
- let me see/let's see idiom
- let's see idiom
- meditate
- puzzle
- rack
- reflect
- the thought crosses sb's mind idiom
- think sth out
- think sth over
- think sth through
- thinking
- worry
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