homicide
Americannoun
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the killing of one human being by another.
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a person who kills another; murderer.
noun
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Burke shot to internet fame in 2022 when his song "Romantic Homicide" became a breakout hit on TikTok.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
The singer is from Houston, Texas, and is best best known for moody, indie-pop hits like Here With Me and Romantic Homicide.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
The lack of information in the macabre death has fuelled intrigue and ignited an online following, with many hypothesising about the girl's connection to the Romantic Homicide singer.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
No arrests have been made in connection with the death, and officials are asking anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026
Homicide rates fell from 30.7 per 100,000 people in 1990 to 8.4 per 100,000 people in 2000, a change of 73-6 percent.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
