amusement

plural amusements

1. uncountableEntertainment.

   To my great amusement, the dog kept on chasing its tail and yelped when it bit it.

   1 more example

   This is some form of amusement you're talking about.

   2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 234a

2. countableAn activity that is entertaining or amusing, such as dancing, gunning, or fishing.

   "What a charming amusement for young people this is, Mr. Darcy! There is nothing like dancing after all. I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished society."

   1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

   2 more examples

   His chief amusements were gunning and fishing, or sauntering along the beach and through the myrtles, in quest of shells or entomological specimens--his collection of the latter might have been envied by a Swammerdamm.

   1843, Edgar Allan Poe, The Gold-Bug

   The Cat was sour-tempered and grumpy, at first, but before they had journeyed far, the crystal creature had discovered a fine amusement. The long tails of the monkeys were constantly sticking through the bars of their cage, and when they did, the Glass Cat would slyly seize the tails in her paws and pull them.

   1919, L. Frank Baum, The Magic of Oz

   Synonyms: avocation, diversion, divertisement, fancy, hobby, kill-time, pastime, pursuit