diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 6725050..1f95e78 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ class Ora {
 		} else if (spinner === undefined) {
 			// Set default spinner
 			this._spinner = cliSpinners.dots;
-		} else if (cliSpinners[spinner]) {
+		} else if (spinner !== 'default' && cliSpinners[spinner]) {
 			this._spinner = cliSpinners[spinner];
 		} else {
 			throw new Error(`There is no built-in spinner named '${spinner}'. See https://github.com/sindresorhus/cli-spinners/blob/main/spinners.json for a full list.`);
diff --git a/test.js b/test.js
index 6f0e6c2..e0b8f2a 100644
--- a/test.js
+++ b/test.js
@@ -322,6 +322,12 @@ if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
 	});
 }
 
+test('throw when spinner is set to `default`', t => {
+	t.throws(() => {
+		new Ora({spinner: 'default'}); // eslint-disable-line no-new
+	}, /no built-in spinner/);
+});
+
 test('indent option', t => {
 	const stream = getPassThroughStream();
 	stream.isTTY = true;