Tech & Science dictionary
spinning wheel of death
[ spin-ing weel uhv deth ]
What is the spinning wheel of death mean?
The spinning wheel of death is a melodramatic nickname given to the rotating wait cursor on Apple devices that resembles a rainbow-colored pinwheel.
The term spinning wheel of death is frequently used in tech-help articles or tech-support message boards. When this wait cursor fails to go away after a short period of time, it usually indicates the device is frozen or is stuck trying to resolve an error, prompting device owners to search for a fix.
Example: I nearly cried when I couldn’t get that spinning wheel of death to go away on my Mac.
Where does spinning wheel of death come from?
The phrase spinning wheel of death is meant to describe the wait cursor on Apple devices, which resembles a colorful spinning pinwheel. This wait cursor has been used on Macs since at least the release of Mac OS (operating system) X in 2001.
It is possible that the phrase spinning wheel of death is as old as the icon itself. The term has popped up in Apple help forums and other tech-help message boards since at least 2004, and it first received an entry in Urban Dictionary in 2007. Spinning wheel of death appears to be based on the older term blue screen of death that refers to the blue screen indicating a severe error on a device running Microsoft Windows.
Other names for the spinning wheel of death include spinning beachball of death, spinning pinwheel of death, and spinning pizza of death.
thinking that my iBook is dead – the spinning wheel of death never stops. Tried reinstalling the OS and she said, "no way."
— David Vess (@davidvess) July 12, 2007
Examples of spinning wheel of death
Who uses spinning wheel of death?
The appearance of the spinning wheel of death causes pain and misery to a large number of users of Apple products.
so far today my computer has revved like it was an overworked dying chainsaw, produced the spinning wheel of death in a story file, restarted twice and spontaneously went black in a fit of refusal to function.
you know how they say dogs start to look like their owners? well…
— Sarah Mervosh (@smervosh) October 13, 2020
That adrenaline rush you feel when you save a project on premiere and just get the spinning wheel of death.
— Mauricio La Plante (@mslaplantenews) October 12, 2020
Listen, spinning wheel of death on my Mac – just because you’re a rainbow doesn’t mean I want to see you
— Sarah P (@SSass34) August 5, 2020
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of spinning wheel of death like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of spinning wheel of death that will help our users expand their word mastery.