demonstrator

American  

[dem-uhn-stray-ter] / ˈdɛm ənˌstreɪ tər /

noun

• demonstrators
  plural

1. a person or thing that demonstrates.

2. Also a person who takes part in a public demonstration, as by marching or picketing.

3. a person who explains orteaches by practical demonstrations.

4. a person who exhibits the use and application of (a product, service, etc.) to a prospective customer.

5. the product, device, machine, etc., actually used in demonstrations to purchasers or prospective customers.

   They sold the demonstrator at half price.

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demonstrator British  

/ ˈdɛmənˌstreɪtə /

noun

1. a person who demonstrates equipment, machines, products, etc

2. a person who takes part in a public demonstration

3. a piece of merchandise, such as a car that one test-drives, used to display merits or performance to prospective buyers

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterdemonstrator
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• demonstrators
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of demonstrator

1605–15; < Latin dēmonstrātor, equivalent to dēmonstrā ( re ) ( see demonstrate) + -tor -tor

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Explanation

If you participate in a political protest, you are a demonstrator. Demonstrate means to show, and by dint of your presence, you are showing that you agree with the protest message. Demonstrator can also mean someone who demonstrates how something works. Electrolux vacuums were sold by door-to-door salespeople who were also demonstrators––they put horrible messes down on the rug to demonstrate their vacuum's power.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

demonstrator demonstrators

One demonstrator died after suffering a cardiac arrest during protests in Paris.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

The Independent continues with "Curfew imposed to stop France riots as unrest grips Europe", below a photo showing a masked demonstrator in Marseille holding a French flag as a fire burns in the backdrop.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

"We're taking the Bastille," one demonstrator shouted in Marseille as masked protesters rammed the door of the mayor's offices with security barriers, in reference to the 1789 storming of a fortress during the French Revolution.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

One demonstrator, Enida Bimi, told Reuters news agency that the protest is not just for the students, but "for all the people of Albania".

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Often I was at meetings all night and would sleep all day — not the normal schedule of an agricultural demonstrator.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Macron has sought to distinguish between the rioters and most demonstrators, whom he said had legitimate grievances over living standards and education.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

In Washington, demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial carrying signs reading “VOTE EARLY” and “HANDS OFF MY VOTE!”

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026

In March, an estimated 8 million people participated in 3,300 events held around the U.S. and overseas — an increase of 1 million demonstrators compared with the “No Kings” event last October.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Police have opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of officer violence against demonstrators, according to the interior ministry.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

A handful of demonstrators carried signs on Madison Avenue for a short while before Zannikos and his partners reluctantly agreed to settle.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

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Related Words

• marcher
• radical
• rioter
• striker

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