What does "speedrun" mean?

A playthrough of a computer or video game in which the whole game or a select part of it, such as a single level, is played with the intent of completing it as quickly as possible, optionally with certain prerequisites.

Speedrun

//ˈspiːd.ɹʌn// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A playthrough of a computer or video game in which the whole game or a select part of it, such as a single level, is played with the intent of completing it as quickly as possible, optionally with certain prerequisites.
"In the speedrun of Super Mario Bros. 3, Anonymous Jones finishes the whole game in just 11 minutes."

Verb

1
To perform or create a speedrun. ambitransitive
"In my most recent attempt to speedrun this game, I almost managed to beat the world record."
2
To do something or undergo some process as quickly as possible. Internet, broadly
"John decided to speedrun his trip to the grocery store."

Example

More examples

"In the speedrun of Super Mario Bros. 3, Anonymous Jones finishes the whole game in just 11 minutes."

Etymology

From speed + run. There are isolated attestations of the term as far back as the 19th century, mostly hyphenated as speed-run and in an engineering context; it is unlikely that these cases influenced the modern form.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.