sidequest

English

WOTD – 18 December 2025

Etymology

From side (“incidental; indirect”, adjective) +‎ quest (noun).

Pronunciation

Noun

sidequest (plural sidequests)

  1. (fiction, history) In fictional or historical writings about chivalric romances: a quest embarked upon by a knight or other person which is not the main quest.
  2. (video games) A quest given to a player which has no direct bearing on the outcome of the main campaign or story of a video game, but often provides additional rewards.
    Synonym: side mission
    Completion of a sidequest often results in the acquisition of money or items that are otherwise unavailable, or unlocks another sidequest.
    • 2003, Bryan Stratton, Stephen Stratton, The Legend of Zelda®: The Wind Waker, Prima Games, →ISBN, page 19:
      The following items are either the objects of a quest or vital components of an optional sidequest.
    • 2022, Adam Moreno, Purpose-Driven Learning: Unlocking and Empowering Our Students’ Innate Passion for Learning‎[1], Taylor & Francis, →ISBN:
      Two tasks I want to discuss are mentioned several times within this chapter: sidequests and adventure paths. These tasks are unique because they offer students a challenge beyond the required work within Michael's classroom. Sidequests are projects that students complete to deepen their understanding of the content.
    • 2024 October 31, Stephanie Amante-Ritter, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” (1:29 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks‎[2], season 5, episode 3, spoken by Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell):
      “Ooh, this is gonna be awesome. As soon as we clean up those nanites I'm gonna...” “Sorry, Mr. Boimler, but you and I have a little side quest we need to take care of.” “Ew. don't wink. Winking's gross.” “Not when I pair it with my signature smirk.” “Worse.”
    1. (by extension, Internet slang) A real-world action or task which a person does in addition to or instead of a main action or task.
      Coordinate term: side hustle
      That celebrity keeps completing random sidequests like hosting award shows.
      • 2024 June 11, @Fille_de_Lune, “What are some of your favourite examples of idols doing side quests?”, in Reddit‎[3]:
        ATEEZ had a whole sidequest phase during lockdown, as each of them dedicated their time and did videos on some specific thing that they felt like doing

Alternative forms

Translations

in fictional or historical writings about chivalric romances: a quest embarked upon by a knight or other person which is not the main quest; quest given to a player which has no direct bearing on the outcome of the main campaign or story of a video game

Further reading

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.