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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

There was a demo they sent to me and instantly there was this feeling, like, "This song belongs to me. It is mine."

From BBC

Starr drums on the single "Bed of Roses," and Hunter had him in mind for the role as soon as he listened to the demo.

From Salon

When a collection of Jai Paul demos leaked online in 2013, it had the makings of a celebration, not a catastrophe.

From New York Times

When it comes to replicating dishes at home, I know that Sara has been doing a lot of great stuff on her Instagram, sharing recipes and demos after episodes air.

From Salon

For example, during a demo of the feature, the company used the example of planning a surprise birthday party.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• album
• disk