Entertaiment – the act of entertaining, or the occupation of an entertainer.

Entertainment ranges from individual private recreation, as when someone chooses a video game for entertainment, to professional performance such as theatre, opera, or concerts; and from activities used in hunting or war, which have become spectator sports, to events staged as global competitions. The same themes and images can be recycled again and again, allowing the familiar to cross over different forms of media. For example, the story of Scheherazade in the Persian tradition of professional storytelling has been adapted into orchestral works by Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel, made into a film by Pasolini, and even included as an innovative element in video games.

This article was programmatically compiled by Merriam-Webster to illustrate current usage and meanings.