demo

1 of 6

noun (1)

ˈde-(ˌ)mō

plural demos

Synonyms of demo next

: demonstration sense 1b

British : demonstration sense 4

: an example of a product that is not yet ready to be sold

a demo version of the software

: a recording intended to show off a song or performer to a record producer

: demonstrator sense a

demo

2 of 6

verb (1)

demoed also demo'd; demoing also demo'ing; demos

transitive verb

: to give a demonstration of (something, such as a product or procedure) : to show how (something) works, is prepared, or is done

The chef demoed everything. His first demo was peeling a carrot.—

Michael Ruhlman

One dealer didn't even have demonstration software; the only thing he could demo was the power light.—

Video Magazine

: to create a demo (see demo entry 1 sense 2b) recording of (a piece of music)

… spent three months rehearsing and demoing songs for their third album …—

David Fricke

: to use (something, such as a product) in order to test its quality or value : to try out (something)

The surest way to pick exactly the right ski for your needs is to first narrow your choices to a workable number … and then go out and demo three or four pairs to make your final selection.—

Bill Grout

demo

3 of 6

verb (2)

demoed also demo'd; demoing also demo'ing; demos

transitive verb

: demolish

Brick salvaged from a demoed fireplace and backyard path make up the new stoop and walkway.—

Natalie Rodriguez

My mom put little masks on me and my brother, gave us goggles and crowbars, and we demo'd the walls.—

Matt Damon

demo

4 of 6

noun (2)

plural demos

: demographic sense 2

Demo

5 of 6

noun (3)

ˈde-(ˌ)mō

plural Demos

: democrat sense 2

demo-

6 of 6

combining form

variants or before vowels dem-

: people : populace : population

demography

demonym

Examples of demo in a Sentence

Noun (1) She will be showing a demo of the company's new alarm system. a demo version of the software I saw a demo on how to use the computer program. The salesman gave us a demo of the vacuum cleaner, and it seemed to work very well. They sent the demo to several record companies. She cut a demo last week. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The demo about buying pizza for a large group is more complicated than the current Big Tech voice assistants can handle. —

Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 22 Nov. 2023 In a demo played before release, the battle was harder than many of the face-offs in Scarlet and Violet, boding well for fans who want a little extra challenge in their Pokémon games. —

Jordan Moreau, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023 Following April’s flight demo, SpaceX made dozens of improvements to the booster and its 33 engines as well as the launch pad. —

Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 18 Nov. 2023 The ceremony earned a 4.0 rating in the adults 18-49 key demo, pushing it to three-year highs in both total viewers and demo — up 5% since 2020. —

Variety, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2023 During our demo, Zhao pulls up a database someone had made of recent tech articles. —

David Pierce, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023 The track began life as a demo written and sung by John Lennon, was later developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and now completed by Paul and Ringo (and some help from artificial intelligence), more than 40 years after the group began work on it. —

Lars Brandle, Billboard, 13 Nov. 2023 Paresh Dave: So the demo started with a tour of their studio. —

WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023 Originally a demo recorded by the late John Lennon in the 1970s, the project was brought to the studio by the surviving Beatles, then shelved in the mid-1990s due to technical limitations. —

Lars Brandle, Billboard, 14 Nov. 2023

Verb

The team plans to demo the concept later this decade. —

Ramin Skibba, WIRED, 15 Mar. 2023 Last fall, Samsung Display and Intel demoed a PC concept that was essentially a 13-inch tablet that could slide out into a 17.3-inch one. —

Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 27 Feb. 2023 Meander about and enjoy meeting founders walking the aisles hawking their wares like Forbes 30 Under 30 Kyiv entrepreneur Victoria Repa who will be on hand to demo her personal coaching wearable, BetterMe. —

Martine Paris, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2023 Some lamented the lack of live features demoed at the launch and offered rolling commentary on Baidu’s falling stock price as the demonstration continued. —

Q.ai - Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2023 Apple uses an iPhone 14 Pro to demo the feature. —

Chris Smith, BGR, 11 Nov. 2022 Simpson will demo in oils at 7 p.m. —

courant.com, 2 Nov. 2021 Video content empowers them to see how clothes and accessories look from all angles or how to apply a beauty or wellness product, make the recipe, set up an electronic device or demo a new product in a short, digestible way. —

Rodney Mason, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2023 The Verge revealed last month that Microsoft was planning an AI event in March to demo how its new ChatGPT-like AI will transform its Office productivity apps. —

Tom Warren, The Verge, 6 Mar. 2023

Verb

To demo the active air suspension, Porsche created an app that uses a phone's tilt sensors. —

Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023 Taiga has rented a berth to demo its jet ski at Westpoint Harbor in the southern part of the Bay Area. —

WIRED, 18 Nov. 2023 For startup Proto, which has partnered with AWS to demo its hologram technology in the Builder Studio, the chance to get the tech face to face with customers is incredibly valuable. —

Isabelle Bousquette, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2023 Founding drummer Bill Berry had departed as R.E.M. began demoing new material, marking the first major change to the group’s lineup in its history. —

Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 9 Nov. 2023 The chipset also runs the AI image generator Stable Diffusion on-device, something that Qualcomm demoed earlier this year. —

Allison Johnson, The Verge, 24 Oct. 2023 Jenna Fischer snapped a selfie from her annual mammogram, and Venus Williams demoed her favorite way to protect and strengthen her hamstrings. —

Grace McCarty, SELF, 20 Oct. 2023 How to Make Succulent Ravioli In addition to sharing his how-to demo several times on social media as well as on the Rachael Ray Show and POPSUGAR, Freeman includes detailed instructions (with handy photos) for succulent ravioli in his new cookbook, Danny Loves Pasta. —

Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2023 During his presentation, Rausch demoed a smarter, more comprehensive Alexa voice experience coming to Fire TV products that’s based on Amazon’s new LLM Alexa model. —

Chris Welch, The Verge, 20 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'demo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

by shortening from demonstration or demonstrator

Verb (1)

verbal derivative of demo entry 1

Verb (2)

by shortening

Noun (2)

by shortening

Noun (3)

by shortening

Combining form

combining form from Greek dêmos "district, country, people, common people, political district in Attica," of uncertain origin

Note: Greek dêmos has traditionally been linked with Old Irish dám "guests, company, retinue," Old Welsh dauu, glossing Latin cliens (hence, presumably, "member of a retinue"), Modern Welsh daw, dawf "son-in-law." However, the semantic discrepancy between the two etyma is significant, and Celtic *dāmo-/*dāmā- has more recently been explained as going back to *dōmo-, a lengthened-grade adjectival derivative of Indo-European *dom-o-s, "house, household." The further traditional link with Indo-European *deh₂- "cut, divide" (whence Greek daíomai, daíesthai "to divide"; cf. tide entry 1), assuming a noun *deh₂-mos meaning originally "part, division," is still possible, though it would be deprived of any support beside Greek.