daemon
noun
dae·mon
variant spelling of demon
1
a
: an evil spirit
angels and demons
b
: a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin
the demons of drug and alcohol addiction
confronting the demons of his childhood
2
usually daemon
: an attendant (see attendant entry 2 sense 1) power or spirit : genius
3
usually daemon mythology
: a supernatural being whose nature is intermediate between that of a god and that of a human being
4
: one that has exceptional enthusiasm, drive, or effectiveness
a demon for work
Doug, putting like a demon, had birdies on the third and sixth …—
Fred Tupper
Fred Tupper5
daemon
: a software program or process that runs in the background
A mailer daemon installed on an e-mail system can respond to a piece of incorrectly addressed e-mail by generating an automated message to the sender that the message was undeliverable.—J. D. Biersdorfer
J. D. BiersdorferExamples of daemon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Aeacus, a judge of the dead, and Thanatos, winged daemon of death, are chthonic.
—Lewis Hyde, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The Rose Field begins where the second book, The Secret Commonwealth leaves off: Lyra alone in a city full of daemons, or physical projections of a person's soul, looking for Pantalaimon as her mentor, Malcolm Polstead, searches for her.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Yet in their original form gremlins are alive and well, living under new names—daemons, worms, virtual pets.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024
During the handshake, BPP keeps track of the number of messages exchanged between the client (typically operated by a remote admin) and the SSH daemon (the server app that facilitates the connection on the network).
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2023
The daemon of the Father-President of the Magisterium (Will Keen, father of Dafne) is a lizard.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022
McAvoy's Asriel and his daemon were barely present in season 2, and even then didn't have any dialogue.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 27 Sep. 2022
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Lewis Hyde, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The Rose Field begins where the second book, The Secret Commonwealth leaves off: Lyra alone in a city full of daemons, or physical projections of a person's soul, looking for Pantalaimon as her mentor, Malcolm Polstead, searches for her.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Yet in their original form gremlins are alive and well, living under new names—daemons, worms, virtual pets.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024
During the handshake, BPP keeps track of the number of messages exchanged between the client (typically operated by a remote admin) and the SSH daemon (the server app that facilitates the connection on the network).
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2023
The daemon of the Father-President of the Magisterium (Will Keen, father of Dafne) is a lizard.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022
McAvoy's Asriel and his daemon were barely present in season 2, and even then didn't have any dialogue.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 27 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Daemon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daemon. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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