How to force quite an app on mac when frozen

How to force quit an app on Mac? When an app completely freezes on your MacBook Air—the spinning rainbow beach ball won't stop, and clicking the red close button does absolutely nothing—you don't need to restart the whole computer. There's a built-in keyboard shortcut that almost always works, even when everything else seems stuck.

How to force quit an app on Mac:

1. Press and hold three keys at the same time: Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + Escape (Esc)

2. A small window titled "Force Quit Applications" will pop up immediately. This window is designed to appear even when your Mac is sluggish or unresponsive.

3. Look through the list of open apps. The frozen one will often have the words "Not Responding" written in red next to its name.

4. Click once on the frozen app's name to highlight it.

5. Click the blue Force Quit button at the bottom of the window.

6. A confirmation box will appear asking if you're sure. Click Force Quit again.

The app window should disappear within a few seconds. You won't lose any work from your other open apps—only the frozen one will close.

How to check if it's truly gone from the background:

After force quitting, open Activity Monitor (you can find it in Applications → Utilities folder, or press Command + Space and type "Activity Monitor"). Type the app's name into the search bar at the top right. If the app still appears in the list, select it and click the X button at the top left, then choose Force Quit again.