Kth Largest Element in an Array
Given an integer array nums and an integer k, return the kth largest element in the array.
The kth largest element is the element that would appear at position k when the array is sorted in descending order.
The array may contain duplicate values.
You should solve the problem without requiring the entire array to be sorted.
Example 1
Input
n = 6 nums = [3, 2, 1, 5, 6, 4] k = 2
Output
5
Explanation
Sorted in descending order:
[6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]
The 2nd largest element is 5.
Example 2
Input
n = 9 nums = [3, 2, 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6] k = 4
Output
4
Explanation
Sorted in descending order:
[6, 5, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1]
The 4th largest element is 4.
Constraints
Hints:
Hint 1
A min-heap of size k can keep track of the k largest elements seen so far.
Hint 2
After processing all elements, the root of the min-heap is the kth largest element.
Author & Technical Reviewer
Technically reviewed by: ExamAdda Technical Review Team
Technical Reviewers, ExamAdda
Software engineers at ExamAdda who check every article's definitions, complexity claims and code examples before and after publishing.
Published
Aug 22, 2026
Last updated
Aug 22, 2026
Content Verification Methodology
Definitions and complexity claims were checked against authoritative computer-science references. Code examples were compiled and tested with standard, boundary and edge-case inputs.
Expected Output