How to Force Quit an App on Your Mac

By Sandy Writtenhouse

Updated Nov 28, 2023

Fix frozen programs that won't respond by forcing them to quit. We'll show you how.

Key Takeaways

Force quitting an app on your Mac can help resolve freezing or unresponsiveness. Use the Dock, menu bar, keyboard shortcut, or Activity Monitor to force quit an app.
If you're still having trouble, consider force restarting or shutting down your Mac.
Insufficient RAM, app-specific issues, and incompatible apps can cause apps to freeze or stop responding. Limit open apps, update apps, or find replacements to address these issues.