Jump To:

• demo
  demo

  noun

  demonstration.
• Demo
  Demo

  noun

  a member of the Democratic Party; Democrat.
• demo-
  demo-

  a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “people” (democratic ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (demography ).

demo

¹ American  

[dem-oh] / ˈdɛm oʊ /

noun

• demos
  plural

1. demonstration.

2. demonstrator.

3. a recording of a new song or of one performed by an unknown singer or singing group, distributed to disc jockeys, recording companies, etc., to demonstrate the merits of the song or performer.

4. demolition.

   He does flooring and demo for a living.

---

verb (used with object)

demoed, demoing

1. to try out or exhibit the use of (a product, process, or the like).

   You can demo the game without downloading or buying it.

2. to record (a song) to demonstrate the merits of the song or performer.

Demo ² American  

[dem-oh] / ˈdɛm oʊ /

noun

Informal.

• Demos
  plural

1. a member of the Democratic Party; Democrat.

---

demo- ³ American  

1. a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “people” (democratic ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (demography ).

---

demo ¹ British  

/ ˈdɛməʊ /

noun

1. short for demonstration

2. 1. a demonstration record or tape, used for audition purposes

   2. a demonstration of a prototype system

3. short for demonstrator

---

demo- ² British  

combining form

1. indicating people or population

   demography

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Demos
  plural
• demos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of demo¹

1935–40; by shortening; see -o

Origin of Demo²

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95

Origin of demo-³

< Greek dēmo-, combining form of dêmos

Explanation

A demo is what you give to show how something works. You might give a demo of your fancy new espresso machine to your weekend guests, so they'll know how to use it. Demo is short for demonstrate or demonstration. It can be a verb, as when a tech company demos its new tablet or laptop. It's also a noun: "The demo of that software was pretty interesting." In the music industry, a demo is a practice version of a song, meant to show a record label or music venue what a performer's music sounds like. This meaning's been around since the 1960s, while earlier it meant "a political demonstration."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

demo Demo Demos demos demoed demoing

Much has been made about the box set’s inclusion of “Little Girl,” a previously lost Lennon demo.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

Saul doesn’t have Dan’s ability to spot future talent, but he agrees to give the singer a listen if they cut a demo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Considering I physically jumped out of my seat at one point playing the demo when avoiding the Alien, it's safe to say Creative Assembly will once again be ratcheting up the tension with the sequel.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Cook’s personality was on full display when Dailey set up a technical demo for a senior government official involving the Vcommunicator, a late-2000s-era iPod Touch with specialized real-time translation software.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

“You know, still working on my music. Trying to finish this demo with Jon.”

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson

It received a Best Paper Honorable Mention recognition, while a demo of the research team's broader robotic feeding system received a Best Demo Award.

From Science Daily ● May 9, 2024

"I started the Flower Demo because I was angry," Minori Kitahara told the BBC after one of the gatherings in Tokyo.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2023

Demo sessions began at Lanois’ makeshift studio in a converted movie theater in Oxnard, not far from Dylan’s home on Malibu’s Point Dume.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2023

So while sitting last month in Father Demo Square, in Manhattan’s West Village, Brookshire took advantage.

From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2022

Demo built a fire, warmed the food his mother had hastily packed.

From The Tarn of Eternity by Frank Tymon

WSJ’s Telis Demos explains what the AI boom’s move into the bond market means for investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Demos, presentations and meetings will take place in a massive convention center as well as ballrooms and suites throughout the city.

From Barron's ● Jan. 3, 2026

“Undoubtedly, this scenario significantly impacts their mental well-being as well,” said Demos Antoniou, director of the Cyprus Third Age Observatory, a seniors-rights group.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 1, 2023

Demos recorded at that time got the attention of Steve Allen, who put her on his prime-time television variety show.

From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

Virginia Demos, who teaches psychology at Harvard, recalls having long conversations with Tomkins during the 1988 Democratic National Convention.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Whereas most American robotics companies only show their products in obsessively stage-managed demos, at an Ultimate Bots fight, “failure is the show,” Bulatov says.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

That material and the five other previously unheard tunes, as well as demos and remastered songs, form part of a new, posthumous album called The Shel Talmy Recordings.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The bereaved received rap demos that Elsesser’s brother and his friends had recorded.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Flock has since stopped using Dunwoody’s cameras for demos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

This being a direct rather than a representative democracy, membership of the demos, or sovereign body, was by right rather than by election, and every decision was taken on a one-man, one-vote basis.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Grohl demoed more than 50 songs - typically in the middle of the night, many of them instrumental, touching on influences as diverse as Massive Attack, Pink Floyd and Bad Brains.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

When Musk returned to the stage a year later, he demoed a prototype called Bumblebee, with visible wires and actuators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026

GoDaddy demoed the AI app builder, agentic workflows for core small and midsize customers, and Airo for WordPress professionals.

From Barron's ● Dec. 6, 2025

Here are some of the key features of Apple Intelligence that The Times demoed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2024

In early October, Tesla demoed Optimus, its humanoid robot.

From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2022

At the Times Food Stage, Cassandra Peterson, known for her work as Elvira, will be demoing from her book “Elvira’s Cookbook From Hell.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026

In a third, Jonathan Shobrook, a fellow, was demoing his product, Adrenaline, a tool that lets you ask natural-language questions of your code base.

From New York Times ● May 31, 2023

In exchange for demoing, I'd get free unlimited yoga classes.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2023

Microsoft only spent 11 seconds of its 49 minute event demoing the Surface Pro 8 without a peripheral you’ll need to pay extra for.

From The Verge ● Sep. 22, 2021

Kaname Hayashi will be demoing Lovot, a chick-like bot with large expressive eyes, flapping arms, wheels, and a wardrobe of clothes to cover its soft shell.

From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2019

Related Words

• album
• disk