speedrun

S1P3E1E1D2R1U1N1
/ˈspiːd.ɹʌn/

noun

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.

“John decided to speedrun his trip to the grocery store.”

Scrabble 11

Meanings

nounspeedrun (plural speedruns)

plural speedruns · alternative speed run

  1. video gamesA 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.

    3 more examples

    This paper concerns speedruns of Minecraft: Java Edition, and, in particular, speedruns of the category known as "Any% Random Seed Glitchless" (RSG) performed on version 1.16. A brief summary of the relevant mechanics and speedrun strategies follows for the unfamiliar reader.

    2020 December 15 [2020 December 11], Minecraft Speedrunning Team, “Dream Investigation Results”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 24 Sep 2022, page 3

    Many of the strats for the Glitchless speedrun came from Distortion2, who is a widely known speedrunner who has broken records in games Elden Ring and Seikiro.

    2023 July 26, Jeremy Gan, “Only Up speedrun records: Fastest completion, Any% glitchless, unrestricted, more”, in Dexerto

    Mae, who describes herself on Patreon as a 20-year-old university student from Canada, holds several world records for Baldur’s Gate 3 speedruns already — including her insane 4:15 any% speedrun.

    2024 January 27, Eliana Bollati, “Baldur’s Gate 3 speedrunner smashes two world records in just two days”, in Dexerto
verbspeedrun (third-person singular simple present speedruns, present participle speedrunning, simple past speedran or speedrunned, past participle speedrun)

present singular third person speedruns · participle present speedrunning · past speedran · past speedrunned · alternative speed run

  1. ambitransitiveTo perform or create a speedrun.

    In my most recent attempt to speedrun this game, I almost managed to beat the world record.

  2. InternetbroadlyTo do something or undergo some process as quickly as possible.

    John decided to speedrun his trip to the grocery store.

    4 more examples

    Dre said in an interview that he created SCAM to poke fun at other "shitcoins" or cryptocurrencies that are clearly pump-and-dump schemes, but at the same time make some money for people willing to put money behind it without any lofty talk to convince people anything more noble is going on. In doing so, SCAM is speedrunning the path of many cryptocurrencies: It hit a $70 million market cap (the snapshot current value of all tokens in circulation) almost immediately after launching, then slumped to $7 million, then $5 million, and now sits at $2.5 million.

    2021 May 3, Edward Ongweso Jr, “This TikToker's 'SCAM' Cryptocurrency Took Off and He Can't Believe It”, in VICE, archived from the original on 05 Jun 2023

    I maintain that the first burrito he ever speedran was the most delicious, was folded with the most care, and had the best ratio of fillings, but burrito speedrunning is not about the flavour, it's about the time.

    2023 March 19, Ben Sledge, “Inside The Chaotic World Of Burrito Speedrunning”, in The Gamer, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2023

    While DeSantis' allies have been speedrunning his political vendettas through the legislature, the Yale and Harvard alum embarked on a national tour ostensibly to promote his literary opus entitled The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival.

    2023 April 12, Justin Miller, “DeSantis vs. Abbott: Tallahassee My Texas”, in The Texas Observer, Austin, T.X.: The Texas Democracy Foundation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Apr 2023

    The result is an ouroboros of faith and science, where an intentional blurring of lines has created a society where a civilization is speedrunning through its development unaware that there are hands pushing them along.

    2023 July 14, Zosha Millman, Joshua Rivera, “Foundation season 2 storylines aren't all the same kind of sci-fi”, in Polygon, archived from the original on 21 Jul 2023

Origin

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.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 速通, 速通
  • 速通 (sùtōng)completing a video game as fast as possible
  • 速通 (sùtōng)to complete a speedrun
Finnish speedrun, nopeuspelaaminen
  • speedruncompleting a video game as fast as possible
  • nopeuspelaaminencompleting a video game as fast as possible
  • speedrunnatato complete a speedrun
French speedrun
  • speedruncompleting a video game as fast as possible
German Speedrun
  • Speedruncompleting a video game as fast as possible
Japanese タイムアタック, スピードラン
  • タイムアタック (taimuatakku)completing a video game as fast as possible
  • スピードラン (supīdoran)completing a video game as fast as possible
  • タイムアタックする (taimuatakku suru)to complete a speedrun
Polish speedrun
  • speedruncompleting a video game as fast as possible
Russian спидра́н, спидра́нить
  • спидра́н (spidrán)completing a video game as fast as possible
  • спидра́нить (spidránitʹ)to complete a speedrun
  • заспидра́нить (zaspidránitʹ)to complete a speedrun
Spanish partida rápida, speedrun
  • partida rápidacompleting a video game as fast as possible
  • speedruncompleting a video game as fast as possible
Swedish speedrun, speedruna
  • speedruncompleting a video game as fast as possible
  • speedrunato complete a speedrun

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with speedrun

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

speedrun. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speedrun

MLA

“speedrun.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speedrun. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “speedrun,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speedrun.

Source: speedrun on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.