loading icon

An animated graphic used to show that a computer is loading data or performing some task in the background.

The most general type takes the form of a spinning wheel, usually a series of lines or dots arranged in a circle which light up in sequence. Some OS-specific types include macOS's spinning pinwheel and Windows' blue circle and rotating hourglass.

When applied to a character, it usually indicates:

• An imminent realization regarding a mistake they made or something they forgot
• An inability to fully grasp something that has just happened
• A vacant mental state ("no thoughts, head empty")

Examples

See also

• loading screen
• progress bar

External links

• Wikipedia: Throbber

The following tags are aliased to this tag: buffering (learn more).