Jump To:

• lek
  lek

  noun

  a traditional place where males assemble during the mating season and engage in competitive displays that attract females.
• Lek
  Lek

  noun

  a river in the central Netherlands, flowing W to the Meuse River; the N branch of the lower Rhine. 40 miles (64 km) long.

lek

¹ American  

[lek] / lɛk /

noun

1. a traditional place where males assemble during the mating season and engage in competitive displays that attract females.

---

verb (used without object)

lekked, lekking

1. (of a male) to assemble in a lek and engage in competitive displays.

lek ² American  

[lek] / lɛk /

noun

1. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Albania, equal to 100 qintars.

---

Lek ³ American  

[lek] / lɛk /

noun

1. a river in the central Netherlands, flowing W to the Meuse River; the N branch of the lower Rhine. 40 miles (64 km) long.

---

lek ¹ British  

/ lɛk /

noun

1. a small area in which birds of certain species, notably the black grouse, gather for sexual display and courtship

2. the act or practice of so gathering

---

lek ² British  

/ lɛk /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Albania, divided into 100 qindarka

---

Etymology

Origin of lek¹

1865–70; < Swedish: mating ground (perhaps elliptically from lekställe ), mating, game, play, Old Norse leikr play, cognate with Old English lāc struggle, offering, gift, Gothic laiks dance, Old High German leih melody

Origin of lek²

Borrowed into English from Albanian around 1925–30

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lek Lek lekking

There, Vold counted 22 birds — a record for that lek and an exciting sight for someone who knows the bird’s numbers have declined by 80% since 1965.

From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2024

These wild chickens are figuratively as well as literally colorful: When the males decide to court females, they gather in an area of either bare ground or short foliage called a "booming groundor lek."

From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2023

In a lek, each male has a territory, and the females shop around.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2019

A male sage grouse struts his stuff in what’s known as a lek, a group of males trying to attract females.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 10, 2018

When they were done, they followed us on the path, singing one of S. E. Rogie’s songs, “Nor look me bad eye, nor weigh me lek dat...”

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

But Lek says she wasn’t ready to reckon with that.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023

After she enrolled at Cal State Long Beach in the early 2010s, Lek left her major undeclared, figuring she’d pursue art while preparing to become a math teacher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023

The first thing you notice about the paintings of Tidawhitney Lek is the hands.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023

Yet he and his keeper, or mahout, Sornsiri "Lek" Sapmak, are in trouble.

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2023

“But what has become of the village that was in the valley yesterday?” asked Lek.

From Zigzag Journeys in Northern Lands; The Rhine to the Arctic; A Summer Trip of the Zigzag Club Through Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden by Hezekiah Butterworth

Others appear to participate in lekking behavior, in which two or more males will perform for a female — duking it out through courtship displays — to gain her favor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023

Little is known about most bats’ mating behaviors, but lekking is generally considered unusual.

From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2020

Fallow are famous for lekking, which means they put on spectacular shows during the mid-October rut.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 3, 2019

These males don’t shy away from competition and will use the same lekking ground for years.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 10, 2018

High costs of female choice in a lekking lizard.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 17, 2012

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---