Pop Culture dictionary
fidget spinner
[fij-it] [spin-er]
What does fidget spinner mean?
A fidget spinner is a popular spinning toy intended as a stress reliever for people who tend to fidget.
Where does fidget spinner come from?
The fidget spinner is a palm-sized toy that spins around a bearing to help people who have trouble focusing or often find themselves fidgeting, especially with their hands.
Fidget spinners became a toy craze in 2016–17. Some major news outlets credited their invention to Catherine Hettinger, who invented a stress-relieving spinning toy in 1993, whose 1997 patent expired in 2005. Patent disputes followed, centered on the fact that Hettinger’s toy features a different mechanism than the ones in the popular fidget spinners.
In early 2017, almost all of the top twenty spots on Amazon’s list of best-selling toys and games were fidget spinner variations. Though marketed as a toy, fidget spinners have picked up a surprisingly large amount of adult fans, a point which was spoofed in a May 2017 episode of Saturday Night Live, which depicted a diamond-encrusted Cartier fidget spinner being given as a romantic gift.
Some have argued fidget spinners are effective attentional aids and coping mechanisms for students with special needs, such as those with ADHD or autism, though many experts have disputed those claims.
Though fidget spinners have been compared in hype and popularity to toys like the Tamagotchi, the hula hoop, and the yo-yo, many adults who are prone to fidgeting see fidget spinners as less of a toy and more of a concentration tool, as the hand motion keeps them focused on more important tasks. Fidget spinners, meanwhile, have been banned from many classrooms due to some teachers claiming that they disrupt the class.
Examples of fidget spinner
Who uses fidget spinner?
Due to negative feelings about the toy craze, some are using fidget spinner as a derogatory term for a worthless person, e.g., “You fidget spinner loser.” Fidget spinner itself has been metaphorically extended to modify anything that moves in the fast, twirling motion like a fidget spinner, also inspiring the verb to fidget spinner and a back-formed verb, to fidget spin.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of fidget spinner 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 fidget spinner that will help our users expand their word mastery.