demo

noun

\ ˈde-(ˌ)mō

plural demos

Definition of demo

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 capitalized : democrat sense 2

2a : demonstration sense 1b

b British : demonstration sense 4

3a : demonstrator sense a

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

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

4 : demographic sense 2

demo

verb

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

Definition of demo (Entry 2 of 3)

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 : demolish My mom put little masks on me and my brother, gave us goggles and crowbars, and we demo'd the walls.— Matt Damon Brick salvaged from a demoed fireplace and backyard path make up the new stoop and walkway.— Natalie Rodriguez

3 : to create a demo (see demo entry 1 sense 3b) recording of (a piece of music) … spent three months rehearsing and demoing songs for their third album …— David Fricke

4 : 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-

combining form

variants: or before vowels dem-

Definition of demo- (Entry 3 of 3)

: people : populace : population demography demonym

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about demo

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Examples of demo in a Sentence

Noun

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

The 30th annual charity classic car show, dog show, martial arts demo, rides on the Euclid Beach boys rocketship car. · 10 a.m. to 12 noon-Balloon clowns and face painters · 1 p.m.-Free games and awards every hour. — Linda Gandee/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Independence Day plans for Bay Village, Rocky River and Westlake," 25 June 2019 In Apple's iOS 13 demo, all the photos looked to be in the right place. — Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, "Apple's new Photos app for iOS 13 may just be the tool you've been waiting for," 4 June 2019 The ultimate feather in Lynne’s cap came when he was invited to produce and perform on the first new Beatles recordings in decades, using a John Lennon vocal demo that Yoko Ono passed along to the band. — Nathan Powers, oregonlive.com, "ELO’s Jeff Lynne headed to Portland, playing his hits and feeling cool," 25 June 2019 Shop for Southwestern spices and tortilla presses at the historic Market Square, or watch a Saturday cooking demo in the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s outdoor kitchen with its jumbo veggie patch. — Jennifer Barger, National Geographic, "Today I'm Obsessed With ...," 22 June 2019 Tom Wlodkowski, who leads Comcast’s accessibility department, said at a June 13 press demo in New York. — Anne Quito, Quartz, "Comcast’s new remote control feature allows viewers to change the channel with their eyes," 17 June 2019 That question has been answered, at least partially, by a hands-off demo available to view on the E3 show floor. — Evan Lewis, EW.com, "5 takeaways from the Marvel's Avengers E3 gameplay demo," 12 June 2019 Fans who want to get an early peak at the game can play through a mini-demo on the game's official website. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "BTS is Releasing a Game You Can Play Right On Your Phone and I Can't Wait!," 6 June 2019 Based on those notes and about 200 demos, a picture began to emerge for a coherent album. — August Brown, latimes.com, "Avicii’s final songs emerge on ‘Tim,’ with help from many friends," 7 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Pick up a pack of tasting tickets, and stay for such family-friendly afternoon activities as martial arts demos, Filipino cultural performances and giveaways. 2 to 6 p.m. Admission is free, tasting tickets are $5 (individual) to $44 (pack of 11). — Washington Post, "17 things to do in the D.C. area this weekend," 20 June 2019 Those ideas are harder to demo though, and will probably take an entire game to fully appreciate. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "41 must-see PC games at E3 2019: Watch every trailer," 15 June 2019 In an Instagram video that the singer-slash-actor shared on Monday, Willis demos a squat variety known as the box squat that involves resting your butt on a bench in between each rep. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "How to Strengthen Your Core and Lower Body With Box Squats Like Rumer Willis," 24 Jan. 2019 In the past, that has meant Steven Spielberg and James Cameron introducing the Avatar game, Robin Williams demoing the game Spore, and Drake to introduce FIFA 14. — Melissa Locker, Time, "A Relaxed Dog Named Bam Bam Is the New Talking Point of the Big Video Game Expo," 11 June 2019 In my brief time demoing an early prototype at E3, the whole thing seemed sturdy enough, if a little tough to use since the controllers are a bit smaller than actual arcade controls. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "Nyko’s $20 cardboard arcade for the Switch looks to trade on the Labo’s success," 14 June 2018 Command and Conquer, once again Perhaps the weirdest part of this year's E3 was when EA took the stage to demo Command & Conquer: Rivals, rebooting its classic strategy series as a mobile game. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Blizzard dispels Diablo 4 rumors, and Hitman 2 adds Sean Bean to the cast," 19 Oct. 2018 Fresh from demoing Oculus Quest at the Oculus Connect conference in San Jose last month, Ars has put together a short video taking you through the pros and cons of the headset's compromises. — Ars Staff, Ars Technica, "Video: What to expect from the Oculus Quest," 18 Oct. 2018 All three companies showed off the technology at the Snapdragon Technology Summit in Maui, demoing a prototype 5G device on a prototype 5G network. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "How fast is 5G? This speed demo gives us an idea," 4 Dec. 2018

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.

History and Etymology for demo

Verb

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.