var sText = "s"; for (var i = 0; i < 250000; ++i) sText += 'a\n'; sText += 'e'; var start = new Date(); var match = sText.match(/s(\s|.)*?e/gi); //var match = sText.match(/s([\s\S]*?)e/gi); //var match = sText.match(/s(?:[\s\S]*?)e/gi); var end = new Date(); assertEq(match.length, 1);