homicide
Americannoun
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the killing of a human being by another person
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a person who kills another
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of homicide
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin homicīdium “a killing,” homicīda “killer,” equivalent to homi- (combining form of homō “man”) + -cīdium, -cīda, noun suffix; see -cide
Explanation
The noun homicide means a murder. If you kill another person, you are committing a homicide. The level of the homicide is legally defined as murder if the act was intentional and as manslaughter if it was unintentional. Remember the meaning of homicide by remembering that cide, from the Latin cida, refers to killing, while the Latin homo means "man.” So homicide means “killing a man.” You can see another example in this quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Life and language are alike sacred. Homicide and verbicide — that is, violent treatment of a word with fatal results to its legitimate meaning, which is its life — are alike forbidden.”
Vocabulary lists containing homicide
Tears of a Tiger
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Latin Love, Vol II: cadere
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And Then There Were None
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That included his stepfather, Ed Kovac, the homicide cop and former Marine who’d had a partner on the force who was gay.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
In a court filing submitted to the judge Thursday and seen by The Wall Street Journal, Jonathan’s lawyers counter many of the points cited by the judge as grounds for her homicide allegation.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
As is common, the two were tried separately, and Bullins reached a plea deal that led to a 20-year sentence for homicide.
From Slate • May 28, 2026
While the homicide rate has decreased, Honduras still has the second-highest homicide rate in the Americas, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
His father had been a robbery detective in Cleveland, Ohio, and his older brother was a homicide detective in Fort Lauderdale—and a detective is what David Delinko fervidly wanted to be, someday.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
