daemon

noun

dae·​mon

variant spelling of demon

1

a

: an evil spirit

angels and demons

b

: a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin

the demons of drug and alcohol addiction

confronting the demons of his childhood

2

usually daemon : an attendant (see attendant entry 2 sense 1) power or spirit : genius

3

usually daemon mythology : a supernatural being whose nature is intermediate between that of a god and that of a human being

4

: one that has exceptional enthusiasm, drive, or effectiveness

a demon for work

Doug, putting like a demon, had birdies on the third and sixth …

—Fred Tupper

5

daemon : a software program or process that runs in the background

A mailer daemon installed on an e-mail system can respond to a piece of incorrectly addressed e-mail by generating an automated message to the sender that the message was undeliverable.

—J. D. Biersdorfer

Examples of daemon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The computer daemon operates in a similar manner, continuously working behind the scenes to keep processes going and to address service requests. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024

Yet in their original form gremlins are alive and well, living under new names—daemons, worms, virtual pets. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024

During the handshake, BPP keeps track of the number of messages exchanged between the client (typically operated by a remote admin) and the SSH daemon (the server app that facilitates the connection on the network). —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2023

The daemon of the Father-President of the Magisterium (Will Keen, father of Dafne) is a lizard. —John Anderson, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022

And don't forget Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge will also voice the daemon of John Parry, played by Andrew Scott. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2020

McAvoy's Asriel and his daemon were barely present in season 2, and even then didn't have any dialogue. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 27 Sep. 2022

One of the most toxic couples on television at the moment is a woman and her monkey: Mrs. Coulter and her daemon in His Dark Materials. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2022

The daemon is an extension of the individual. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 15 Oct. 2020

Rhymes for daemon

• beeman
• demon
• leman
• niemann
• seaman
• seamen
• semen
• enginemen

Kids Definition

daemon

variant of demon