What does “entertain” mean?
- 1
verbto interest and amuse people
The clown entertained the children for an hour.
- 2
verbto invite people to your home and give them food and drink
They love entertaining on weekends.
- 3
verbto consider an idea, hope or offer, formally
He refused to entertain the idea of retiring.
Entertain at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /ˌɛntərˈteɪn/ · en-ter-TAYN
How to use “entertain” correctly
The meaning “consider” is common with negatives: “I wouldn’t entertain the thought.”
Common phrases with “entertain”
- entertain guests
- entertain an idea
- entertain a possibility
- keep sb entertained
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- amuse
- host
- consider
Word family
- entertainment
- entertainer
- entertaining
“entertain” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- convince verbB1to make someone believe that something is true
- suggest verbA2to give an idea or plan for others to think about
- insist verbB1to say firmly that something must happen, used with “on” or “that”
- intend verbB1to plan or mean to do something
- truth nounA2the real facts about something
- weigh verbB1to have a certain weight, or to measure how heavy something is
- admit verbB1to agree, often unwillingly, that something is true or that you did something wrong
- argue verbB1to speak angrily to someone because you disagree