Speedrun in gaming is finishing a game as fast as possible, often with strict rules. Outside gaming, "speedrun" is jokingly used for doing anything quickly. Not concerning. Often paired with "any percent" or game titles. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in.
speedrun
Completing a game as fast as humanly possible.
ˈspiːd.rʌnDocumented since 1990s1990sMillennialhistoricalCurrent390 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Seen in the wild
4 citations · last seen May 2026
Etymology timeline
Born ~1994 · 1 year of recorded useMillennial / early-internet eraSee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
🔥🔥 NEW SPEEDRUN RECORD VERIFIED! 🔥🔥 🎮 Game: Death by AI 🏆 Category: Starrio Cosmos ⏱ Time: 0h 0m 46s 466ms 👤 Player: Twitawoo36 🔗 Link: https://www.speedrun.com/dbai/runs/m38k26gy
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BlueskyMay 2026
🔥🔥 NEW SPEEDRUN RECORD VERIFIED! 🔥🔥 🎮 Game: Moss Moss 🏆 Category: Fully Mossed ⏱ Time: 0h 8m 9s 000ms 👤 Player: naan_pan_man 🔗 Link: https://www.speedrun.com/mossmoss/runs/y6wqep6z
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BlueskyMay 2026
like. god damn. all might spent ~30 years shouldering the weight of the world and then izuku came along and decided to speedrun that in a few weeks time.
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BlueskyMay 2026
🔥🔥 NEW SPEEDRUN RECORD VERIFIED! 🔥🔥 🎮 Game: minus b 🏆 Category: Any% ⏱ Time: 0h 1m 19s 000ms 👤 Player: NerfWrath 🔗 Link: https://www.speedrun.com/minus_b/runs/y6wqj8jz
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Wikipedia: Tool-assisted speedrun
A tool-assisted speedrun or tool-assisted superplay (TAS; ) is generally defined as a video game playthrough or speedrun composed of precise inputs recorded with tools such as emulators.
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Definitions
INTERNET
+612100%
#1·Apr 24, 2026INTERNET
Completing a game as fast as humanly possible. "Any%" means exploits are legal; "100%" requires full completion. Games Done Quick makes speedruns a spectator sport.
See it in action
“A tool-assisted speedrun or tool-assisted superplay (TAS; ) is generally defined as a video game playthrough or speedrun composed of precise inputs recorded with tools such as emulators.”
“🔥🔥 NEW SPEEDRUN RECORD VERIFIED! 🔥🔥 🎮 Game: Moss Moss 🏆 Category: Fully Mossed ⏱ Time: 0h 8m 9s 000ms 👤 Player: naan_pan_man 🔗 Link: https://www.speedrun.com/mossmoss/runs/y6wqep6z”
“like. god damn. all might spent ~30 years shouldering the weight of the world and then izuku came along and decided to speedrun that in a few weeks time.”
"He speedrun Dark Souls in under an hour."
Origin: Gaming / esports community vocabulary.
For parents
Speedrun in gaming is finishing a game as fast as possible, often with strict rules. Outside gaming, "speedrun" is jokingly used for doing anything quickly. Not concerning. Often paired with "any percent" or game titles. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in.
For ESL learners
Speedrun is a gaming-community noun and verb meaning to complete a game as quickly as possible, often under defined rule sets. Use in gaming writing and casually as a metaphor ("I speedran the laundry"). Formal equivalent: "a fastest-completion attempt." Common non-native mistake: hyphenating as "speed-run" in formal writing; the established spelling in gaming media is the one-word form. Read or listen to the word in context several times before trying it yourself; the right register is harder to learn than the dictionary meaning.
Heard in the wild
“🔥🔥 NEW SPEEDRUN RECORD VERIFIED! 🔥🔥 🎮 Game: Death by AI 🏆 Category: Starrio Cosmos ⏱ Time: 0h 0m 46s 466ms 👤 Player: Twitawoo36 🔗 Link: https://www.speedrun.com/dbai/runs/m38k26gy”
— Bluesky· May 2026“🔥🔥 NEW SPEEDRUN RECORD VERIFIED! 🔥🔥 🎮 Game: Moss Moss 🏆 Category: Fully Mossed ⏱ Time: 0h 8m 9s 000ms 👤 Player: naan_pan_man 🔗 Link: https://www.speedrun.com/mossmoss/runs/y6wqep6z”
— Bluesky· May 2026“like. god damn. all might spent ~30 years shouldering the weight of the world and then izuku came along and decided to speedrun that in a few weeks time.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“🔥🔥 NEW SPEEDRUN RECORD VERIFIED! 🔥🔥 🎮 Game: minus b 🏆 Category: Any% ⏱ Time: 0h 1m 19s 000ms 👤 Player: NerfWrath 🔗 Link: https://www.speedrun.com/minus_b/runs/y6wqj8jz”
— Bluesky· May 2026“A tool-assisted speedrun or tool-assisted superplay (TAS; ) is generally defined as a video game playthrough or speedrun composed of precise inputs recorded with tools such as emulators.”
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INTERNET
#2·May 2, 2026INTERNET
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.
Source: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Show 2 more dictionary-style senses (imported)
INTERNET
#3·May 2, 2026INTERNET
To perform or create a speedrun.
Source: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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INTERNET
#4·May 2, 2026INTERNET
To do something or undergo some process as quickly as possible.
Source: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🎮About Gaming slang
Gaming slang across genres — from OP, nerf, and buff to carry, clutch, jungle, and wombo combo. The lingo of esports, streamers, and ranked lobbies everywhere.
See all Gaming slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "speedrun" (S)
speckingspecklespec upspeechiespeededspeedosspeedrun arcspeedrun checkspeedrun energyspeedrun failspeedrun godspeedrun mode
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- category killer62%
(speedrunning) A speedrun so fast that beating it is considered unattainable, thereby "killing" the category it became the record for.
- speedrun mode61%
The state of operating at maximum velocity with zero time for detours — head down, objectives locked, everything non-essential ignored. Speedrun mode is what you enter when the deadline is too close, the patience is too thin, or you've simply decided that the normal pace of life doesn't apply to you right now. It's not about quality; it's about throughput. Used admiringly when someone smashes through a task, and humorously when someone is clearly skipping steps they probably shouldn't skip.