speedrunning

noun

speed·​run·​ning ˈspēd-ˌrə-niŋ 

: timed playing of a video game in which the aim is to complete a game or portion of a game as quickly as possible

While "speedrunning" at its simplest is playing a game as quickly as you can, there are categories for each game with specific objectives. … I opted to collect all seven emeralds in Sonic 3—a tedious but ultimately satisfying task.

—Erica Lenti

a speedrunning event/challenge

the speedrunning community

speedrunner

ˈspēd-ˌrə-nər 

noun

plural speedrunners

… players devote their time to absorbing a game from start to finish. Completing it may take days or months. … Speedrunners, though, go through it time and time again, trying to beat it as fast as they can.

—Sarah Bergin

… while there are speedrun races, most speedrunners aren't in it to defeat an opponent; the opponent is a ticking clock.

—Keller Gordon

Examples of speedrunning in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like 2022’s Neon White, this is a shooter with the DNA of speedrunning. —Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024

Now the Diablo speedrunning race is on, once again. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 10 Aug. 2024

Similar to running in real life, speedrunning involves extensive periods of solitude and painstaking labor. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, New York Times, 17 May 2024

If traditional speedrunning is based around organization, then GeoGuessr is the antithesis. —Will Backus, Wired, 16 Apr. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1998, in the meaning defined above