entertain
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++en·ter·tain /ˌentəˈteɪn $ -tər-/ ●●○ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]PERFORM to amuse or interest people in a way that gives them pleasure 使快乐；使有兴趣entertain somebody with something She entertained the children with stories, songs and drama. 她又讲故事又唱歌，还演戏，把孩子们逗得很开心。 A museum should aim to entertain as well as educate. 博物馆应该致力于成为娱乐和教育功能并重的场所。2 [intransitive, transitive]INVITE to invite people to your home for a meal, party etc, or to take your company’s customers somewhere to have a meal, drinks etc 招待，款待，请客 Mark usually does the cooking when we entertain. 我们招待客人时通常都是马克下厨。 Do you get an allowance for entertaining clients? 你招待客户有补助吗？3 entertain an idea/hope/thought etc formalTHINK something/HAVE A THOUGHT to consider an idea etc, or allow yourself to think that something might happen or be true 怀有某种想法/希望/看法等 She could never entertain the idea of living in the country. 她绝不可能有住到乡下去的想法。→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
entertain• Being a sociable person, Eva loved entertaining.• It's Scott's personality that really inspires and entertains.• They had a hugely entertaining and morale-building win Sunday, but it was against the Bengals.• As always, Costas is entertaining and well-spoken, and his monologues are undeniably passionate.• Such a call might have wonderfully entertaining aspects.• Donna entertains at home on a regular basis.• This is a easy but impressive dish if you are entertaining at home.• An important part of the job is entertaining business clients.• Mike often gets home late when he's entertaining business clients.• She entertained but fleetingly the notion of ringing the Bishop.• About a fifth of their income is spent on entertaining clients.• What am I doing, entertaining David Kent in my dressing-gown?• I meet a lot of people, but I don't entertain much myself.• Eventually this became independent; now it produces sought after family shows to entertain the elderly and to raise funds for charity.• While no great leap forward stylistically, it has enough chewy bits to surprise listeners and keep them entertained through repeated listenings.• The plot unfolds engagingly, with some very entertaining video segments.entertain somebody with something• He still occasionally entertains his family with his accordion playing.entertaining clients• It is no longer acceptable to pretend to be entertaining clients while overtly pushing your business at them.Origin entertain (1400-1500) Old French entretenir “to hold together, support”, from tenir “to hold”en·ter·tain verbChineseSyllable
way interest that to or people Corpus a amuse in gives
entertain
en‧ter‧tain /ˌentəˈteɪn $ -tər-/
verb
entertain somebody with something
She entertained the children with stories, songs and drama.
A museum should aim to entertain as well as educate.
2. [intransitive and transitive] to invite people to your home for a meal, party etc, or to take your company’s customers somewhere to have a meal, drinks etc:
Mark usually does the cooking when we entertain.
Do you get an allowance for entertaining clients?
3. entertain an idea/hope/thought etc formal to consider an idea etc, or allow yourself to think that something might happen or be true:
She could never entertain the idea of living in the country.
en‧ter‧tain /ˌentəˈteɪn $ -tər-/
verb Word Family: noun: entertainer, entertainment, entertaining; verb: entertain; adverb: entertainingly; adjective: entertaining
Date: 1400-1500
Language: Old French
Origin: entretenir 'to hold together, support', from tenir 'to hold'
1. [intransitive and transitive] to amuse or interest people in a way that gives them pleasureLanguage: Old French
Origin: entretenir 'to hold together, support', from tenir 'to hold'
entertain somebody with something
2. [intransitive and transitive] to invite people to your home for a meal, party etc, or to take your company’s customers somewhere to have a meal, drinks etc:
3. entertain an idea/hope/thought etc formal to consider an idea etc, or allow yourself to think that something might happen or be true: