Scholarship about the meanings of leisure has existed for over 50 years in the United States．Although the contemporary notion of leisure grew out of the modern industrial age，the definitions and meanings continue to expand．This paper addresses historical and evolutionary contexts of leisure from the author’s perspective．Five categories of meanings are addressed including leisure as time， recreation／activity， state of mind，places and spaces， and cultural context．Some of the views are highlighted from a feminist perspective，which has provided additional insight into understanding Western leisure．Some of the possibilities and challenges associated with researching leisure and its meanings in the 2 1 st century are described．