demo

noun (1)

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\ ˈde-(ˌ)mō

plural demos

Definition of demo

(Entry 1 of 6)

1a : demonstration sense 1b

b British : demonstration sense 4

2a : an example of a product that is not yet ready to be sold a demo version of the software

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

c : demonstrator sense a

demo

verb (1)

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

Definition of demo (Entry 2 of 6)

transitive verb

1 : 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

2 : 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

3 : 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

verb (2)

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

Definition of demo (Entry 3 of 6)

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

noun (2)

plural demos

Definition of demo (Entry 4 of 6)

: demographic sense 2

Demo

noun (3)

\ ˈde-(ˌ)mō

plural Demos

Definition of Demo (Entry 5 of 6)

: democrat sense 2

demo-

combining form

variants: or before vowels dem-

Definition of demo- (Entry 6 of 6)

: people : populace : population demography demonym

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about demo

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Synonyms for demo

Synonyms: Noun (1)

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.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Paddling stores even sold their demo and rental stock in an attempt to keep up with demand. — USA Today, "Before the pandemic ketchup squeeze: A year of COVID-19 product shortages and the items we struggled to find," 15 Apr. 2021 For a more purist version, find Joey Ramone’s original demo version, which is a wonder in itself. — Troy L. Smith, cleveland, "50 greatest Christmas songs by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers," 22 Dec. 2020 As a result, NBC won the night in the demo (1.3) and viewers (6.6 million), despite tough competition from those old Seattle Grace friends who keep showing up on the beach to see Meredith. — Lynette Rice, EW.com, "Law & Order: SVU scores best ratings since 2016 with Chris Meloni's return as Stabler," 2 Apr. 2021 Whatever piques your interest is now online, from engineering a paper airplane to a Latin-flavor cooking demo. — Mary Lou Cruz, sun-sentinel.com, "Sunday calendar: Community and entertainment events starting April 4," 2 Apr. 2021 During the same period, CNN shed 44% of its total day viewers among the key demo, dropping from an average of 483,000 to only 272,000. — Jack Durschlag, Fox News, "Biden wrong not to acknowledge border 'crisis,' administration officials tell Fox News," 18 Mar. 2021 The mind-reading tech demo, seen in the video below, is an even more obvious hint that Facebook wants to compete in this space. — Chris Smith, BGR, "Facebook wants to read your mind, but it’s not as terrifying as it sounds," 18 Mar. 2021 In Abrams’s home office, Ton-That did a demo of Clearview. — New York Times, "What Happens When Our Faces Are Tracked Everywhere We Go?," 18 Mar. 2021 Beth Segal will be moderating a virtual cooking demo, Passover Cooking Around the World on March 18, at 7:30 p.m. — Beth Segal, cleveland, "Popovers! Perfect for Passover and beyond," 17 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb That’s a feature that Apple might want to demo and explain via a press conference, especially considering the controversy generated around it. — Chris Smith, BGR, "Bloomberg: Apple’s spring event won’t deliver anything ‘particularly innovative’," 15 Apr. 2021 Google was pretty pumped and brought out Mark Ronson and Selena Gomez to demo it. — Jacob Krol, CNN Underscored, "The new Nest Hub is here — and it can track your sleep," 16 Mar. 2021 Google was pretty pumped and brought out Mark Ronson and Selena Gomez to demo it. — Jacob Krol, CNN Underscored, "The new Nest Hub is here — and it can track your sleep," 16 Mar. 2021 Google was pretty pumped and brought out Mark Ronson and Selena Gomez to demo it. — Jacob Krol, CNN Underscored, "The new Nest Hub is here — and it can track your sleep," 16 Mar. 2021 The online show includes how-to demo videos and offers the opportunity to live chat with exhibitors. — cleveland, "16 things to do in Greater Cleveland this weekend, March 4-7," 4 Mar. 2021 Being able to demo the product in real life in the convenience of a Nordstrom store could be a big boost for Tonal and expand its reach to potential new customers. — Blake Morgan, Forbes, "What The Tonal/Nordstrom Partnership Means For The Future Of Experiential Retail," 2 Mar. 2021 The best way to demo new features intended for foldable phones is by using its own hardware. — Chris Smith, BGR, "Google’s foldable Pixel phone was just confirmed by a top leaker," 26 Feb. 2021 Now those in sales have to demo a product over Zoom. — New York Times, "The Race to Fix Virtual Meetings," 17 Feb. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'demo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of demo

Noun (1)

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb (1)

1969, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1994, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1980, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1793, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for demo

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.