Aworld record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specificskill,sport, or other kind of activity. The bookGuinness World Records and other world records organizations collates and publishes notable records of many.

In the United States, the formWorld's Record was formerly more common. The termThe World's Best was also briefly in use. The latter term is still used inathletics events, includingtrack and field androad running to describe good and bad performances that are not recognized as an official world record: either because it is not an event whereWorld Athletics tracks the record (e.g. the 150 m run or individual events in adecathlon), or because it does not fulfill other rigorous criteria of an otherwise qualifying event (e.g. theGreat North Run half-marathon, which has an excessive downhill gradient). The term is also used in video gamespeedrunning for the fastest achieved time in the game and category.^[1]

Some sports have world records recognised by their respectivesports governing bodies:

• Lists of extreme points