185 Words an AI Mutters While Thinking — Defined, Translated, and Taken Far Too Seriously
"Finally, the ephemeral vocabulary of a loading spinner has been given the lexicographic gravitas it so desperately did not need."
— No one, upon seeing this book
While you wait for your AI assistant to respond, a single word spins in the terminal.
Frolicking. Waddling. Discombobulating.
These aren't random — they're the spinner verbs, a curated vocabulary of gerunds displayed by Claude while it thinks. They exist for a fraction of a second, then vanish.
They deserved a dictionary.
The Spinner Verbs Dictionary is a comprehensive, deadpan reference work cataloguing every spinner verb — current and retired — with the full gravitas of a leather-bound Oxford edition.
Each of the 191 entries includes:
- IPA phonetic transcription — because discombobulating deserves proper pronunciation guidance
- Numbered definitions with multiple senses, written with the gravity typically reserved for words that actually matter
- Field sightings — humorous "observations" of Claude performing the action
- Cross-references to related verbs (waddling → see also moseying)
- Version history — when each verb first appeared and, for the retired ones, when it was last seen alive
Retired verbs are marked with a dagger (†) and treated as archaic — complete with wistful definitions and "last sighted in v0.2.41" notes.
discombobulating /dɪsˌkɒm.ˈbɒb.jʊ.leɪ.tɪŋ/ v. gerund † ARCHAIC [v0.1.12–v0.2.41]
To throw into a state of productive confusion. The spinner's way of admitting it has no idea what it's doing, but with panache.
"Spotted discombobulating a perfectly working codebase into something that passes all tests but frightens the linter."
→ see also: combobulating, flibbertigibbeting
| 191 | Total verbs catalogued |
| 185 | Currently in active rotation |
| 6 | Retired to archaic status |
| 7 | Mood categories (Culinary, Kinetic, Cerebral, Whimsical, Scientific, Musical, Existential) |
The Primordial Era (v0.2.9–v0.2.41) saw the birth of 56 original verbs — a blend of the practical (Computing, Processing) and the playful (Noodling, Honking, Vibing).
The Singular Addition (v0.2.42) brought exactly one new verb: Pontificating. Its arrival was noted with appropriate ceremony.
The Great Expansion (v1.0.29) unleashed 33 new verbs upon the world, including such luminaries as Flibbertigibbeting, Discombobulating, and Wizarding. The tone shifted decisively toward whimsy.
The Modern Era (v1.0.49+) saw the roster swell to 185 verbs, embracing culinary arts (Julienning, Sauteing), dance (Moonwalking, Sock-hopping), and the frankly inexplicable (Whatchamacalliting).
Along the way, some verbs were quietly retired — victims of changing tastes or corporate sobriety initiatives.
Download The Spinner Verbs Dictionary (PDF)
The complete English edition. Free. Because dictionaries of imaginary verb behaviors should be accessible to everyone.
For those who believe spinner verbs deserve to exist on physical paper, a professionally typeset paperback is available:
The print book features two-column dictionary layout, guide words, and the kind of typographic care normally reserved for words that weren't invented by a loading spinner.
A subjective classification. Your mileage may vary.
Culinary — Baking, Brewing, Caramelizing, Cooking, Fermenting, Flambeing, Frosting, Garnishing, Julienning, Kneading, Leavening, Marinating, Proofing, Sauteing, Seasoning, Simmering, Stewing, Tempering, Whisking, Zesting
Kinetic — Cascading, Frolicking, Gallivanting, Galloping, Moonwalking, Scampering, Scurrying, Shimmying, Skedaddling, Waddling
Cerebral — Cerebrating, Cogitating, Contemplating, Deliberating, Musing, Philosophising, Pondering, Ruminating
Whimsical — Booping, Canoodling, Dilly-dallying, Flibbertigibbeting, Lollygagging, Razzle-dazzling, Shenaniganing, Tomfoolering, Topsy-turvying, Whatchamacalliting
Scientific — Crystallizing, Ionizing, Nebulizing, Nucleating, Osmosing, Photosynthesizing, Precipitating, Sublimating
Musical — Beboppin', Grooving, Harmonizing, Improvising, Jitterbugging, Jiving, Sock-hopping
Existential — Discombobulating, Flummoxing, Befuddling, Combobulating, Recombobulating
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — you're free to share and adapt it for non-commercial purposes with attribution.