the basic unit of money in Moldova
"The traveler exchanged her euros for leu to pay for dinner at a restaurant in Chisinau."
the basic unit of money in Romania
"After visiting Bucharest, she exchanged her euros for leu to buy souvenirs at the market."
The unit of currency of Romania, equal to one hundred bani.
"The reactor was fueled by leu, which is an initialism for low-enriched uranium used to generate electricity without producing weapons-grade material."
Initialism of low-enriched uranium.
In plain English: Leu is the official currency used for money in Romania and Moldova.
"The shopkeeper gave me three leus back for my change."
Usage: Leu refers specifically to the Romanian monetary unit and should not be confused with similar-sounding words from other languages or currencies. It is always used in plural form when referring to multiple units, such as "cinci lei."
The word comes from the Romanian leu, which means "lion." It entered English via French as a unit of currency named after this animal.