From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdemonde‧mon /ˈdiːmən/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 ROan evil spirit or force He was speeding down the motorway as if pursued by a demon.2 [usually plural] something that makes you anxious and causes you problems She struggled with her husband’s demons of addiction and alcoholism.3 GOOD ATsomeone who is very good at something – often used humorously a demon cook4 → the demon drink → daemon
Examples from the Corpus
demon• Youths dressed as demons careered across the road and yelled at the tops of their voices.• Naked, they fetch and pile stones from the riverbed, but demons topple the tower before it is high enough.• Spencer hoped that therapy would free her from her inner demons.• The rebels fought like demons, and under cover of the dense underbrush poured deadly volleys upon us.• Astrology was condemned as the doctrine of demons.• I have a tremendous weakness for the demon king, Brian Walden.• Paganini, the demon of the violin, transformed violin playing techniques.• Don't let anybody tell you demons have no feelings.Origin demon (1200-1300) Late Latin daemon “evil spirit”, from Greek daimon 