demo

¹ American  

[dem-oh] / ˈdɛm oʊ /

noun

plural

demos

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.

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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.

plural

Demos

1. a member of the Democratic Party; Democrat.

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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 ).

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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

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demo- ² British  

combining form

1. indicating people or population

   demography

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Etymology

Origin of demo¹

1935–40; by shortening; -o

Origin of Demo²

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95

Origin of demo-³

< Greek dēmo-, combining form of dêmos

Example Sentences

In 1972, Dea became obsessed with Stewart after hearing him sing a trio of Motown hits on an old demo tape.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

At a UK demo of Alexa+, it responded, "actually, you can leave the brolly at home, with sunny skies and no rain in the forecast, you'll be sorted without it".

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

The Roadster “will be the most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product,” Musk said at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting last November, according to a transcript.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

Rushing into a nearby demo studio, Sedaka cut a version that was ready for radio, but RCA refused to release it, on the grounds that it only released records made in its studios.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

“No demo today, I’m afraid. Maybe next month.”

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Related Words

• album
• disk