entertain
verbVerb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they entertain | |
| he / she / it entertains | |
| past simple entertained | |
| past participle entertained | |
| -ing form entertaining |
- [transitive, intransitive]
to interest somebody or make somebody laugh in order to please them 使有兴趣；使快乐；娱乐 The aim of the series is both to entertain and inform. 这套系列节目是为了寓教于乐。 - entertain somebody/yourself
Afterwards live bands will entertain the crowd. 之后，现场乐队将娱乐观众。 Parents can relax while the kids entertain themselves in the outdoor playground. 孩子们在室外操场上玩耍时，父母可以放松一下。 - entertain somebody/yourself with something
He entertained us for hours with his stories and jokes. 他讲故事说笑话，逗我们乐了好几个小时。 They learned to entertain themselves with hobbies that required little or no money. 他们学会了用很少或不需要钱的爱好来娱乐自己。
Extra ExamplesFilms can entertain and educate, make you laugh or cry. 电影有娱乐和教育的作用，能引人发笑，也能催人泪下。 She entertained us with stories of her travels. 她给我们讲她的旅游见闻以逗我们开心。 We hired a magician to keep the children entertained. 我们请了一个魔术师来逗孩子们开心。 Two of the students kept the children entertained with a puppet show. 两个学生用木偶剧逗孩子们开心。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- thoroughly
- with
- entertain and educate
- entertain and enlighten
- entertain and inform
- …
- [intransitive, transitive]
to invite people to eat or drink with you as your guests, especially in your home （尤指在自己家中）招待，款待 Do you entertain a lot? 你经常娱乐吗？ The Bradfords always entertained lavishly at Christmas. 布拉德福德夫妇在圣诞节总是盛情地款待大家。 - entertain somebody
Barbecues are a favourite way of entertaining friends. 户外烧烤是特别受人喜爱的待客方式。 - entertain somebody to something
They entertained us to lunch in their new house. 他们请我们在他们的新居吃午饭。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- lavishly
- to
- [transitive]
(not used in the progressive tenses 不用于进行时 to consider or allow yourself to think about an idea, a hope, a feeling, etc. 心存，怀有（想法、希望、感觉等） Extra Examplesbriefly entertaining hopes that he might keep the affair a secret 曾有一刻希望他能对这件事保守秘密 She would make no promises, but was prepared to entertain the idea. 她没有作任何承诺，但愿意考虑这个想法。 I am amazed that such a crackpot scheme could be seriously entertained. 对如此不切实际的计划给予这样认真的考虑，我感到不可思议。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- seriously
- briefly
- be prepared to
- be willing to
- refuse to
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: from French entretenir, based on Latin inter ‘among’ + tenere ‘to hold’. The word originally meant ‘ maintain, continue’, later ‘maintain in a certain condition, treat in a certain way’, also ‘show hospitality’ (late 15th cent.).