If your Mac says “The item ‘Grammarly Desktop’ can’t be moved to the Trash because it’s open,” Grammarly is still running in the background. Click the Grammarly icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen and choose Quit, then drag Grammarly Desktop from your Applications folder to the Trash. If it still won’t move, force quit every Grammarly process in Activity Monitor and try again.
Grammarly starts automatically when you log in and keeps running with no window open, which is why the error catches people off guard. Below are the full steps to remove it, stop it from relaunching, and clean up leftover files.
Why you can’t move Grammarly to the Trash
macOS won’t delete an app while it’s running. Grammarly Desktop runs as a menu bar app and several helper processes that check your writing in other apps. Closing a Grammarly window, if one is open, doesn’t stop them. You have to quit the app itself.
- Look for the green G Grammarly icon in the menu bar at the top right of your screen.
- Click it and choose Quit (it may be under a settings or more menu).
- Wait a few seconds.
- Open Finder > Applications and drag Grammarly Desktop to the Trash, or right-click it and choose Move to Trash.
Step 2: Force quit Grammarly in Activity Monitor
If the error appears again, a Grammarly process is still running.
- Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities, or press Command + Space and type Activity Monitor.
- Type Grammarly in the search box in the top-right corner.
- Select a Grammarly process and click the X (Stop) button at the top of the window, then choose Force Quit.
- Repeat for every Grammarly process in the list.
- Go back to Applications and move Grammarly Desktop to the Trash.
Step 3: Stop Grammarly from opening at login
If Grammarly keeps relaunching, remove it from your login items before deleting it.
- Open System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions (or Login Items).
- Under Open at Login, select Grammarly and click the minus button.
- Under Allow in the Background, turn off Grammarly if it’s listed.
- Restart your Mac, then delete the app before opening anything else.
Step 4: Remove leftover Grammarly files (optional)
Moving the app to the Trash removes the program, but some settings and caches stay behind. To remove them:
- In Finder, click Go in the menu bar, hold the Option key, and click Library.
- Check these folders for items named Grammarly or com.grammarly and move them to the Trash:
- Application Support
- Caches
- Preferences
- LaunchAgents
- Empty the Trash.
Only delete items with Grammarly in the name. If you’re unsure about a file, leave it.
Step 5: Remove Grammarly from browsers and permissions
- Safari: Open Safari > Settings > Extensions, select Grammarly and click Uninstall.
- Chrome or Edge: Right-click the Grammarly extension icon and choose Remove.
- Accessibility permission: In System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, select Grammarly and click the minus button to remove it.
Quick fixes at a glance
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| “Can’t be moved to the Trash because it’s open” | Quit from the menu bar icon |
| Still says it’s open after quitting | Force quit Grammarly processes in Activity Monitor |
| Grammarly reopens by itself | Remove it from Login Items and restart |
| Grammarly suggestions still appear in Safari | Uninstall the Safari extension |
| Need a completely clean removal | Delete leftover files in Library |
Related: uninstall TurboTax on a Mac.
Related: add Grammarly to Google Docs.
Frequently asked questions
Does deleting the app cancel my Grammarly subscription?
No. Your account and subscription stay active. Cancel the subscription from your Grammarly account settings on the website if you want to stop paying.
Will deleting Grammarly Desktop remove it from Word?
The desktop app powers Grammarly in many Mac apps, including Word. If you also installed the separate Grammarly add-in for Word, remove that from Word’s add-ins menu.
Can I reinstall Grammarly later?
Yes. Download it again from Grammarly’s website and sign in.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He started on a university help desk, spent years as the IT person for small businesses, and has been writing tech guides full time since 2020. Each guide is checked on a device he owns, and re-checked when a menu moves. More about Kermit.