The basic homicide meaning is the killing of one human being by another. It is a broad, neutral label: it says that a person caused someone's death, but not yet whether that act was a crime.
That is why lawyers, police and doctors use the word carefully. Murder and manslaughter are both forms of homicide, but so is a killing in lawful self-defense. This page sets out the definition of homicide, the main legal categories, and the way reporters and ordinary speakers use the word.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
The killing of a person by another personPart of speech
Noun (plural: homicides)Pronunciation
HOM-uh-side (US also HOH-muh-side)Adjective
homicidal (likely or wanting to kill)Origin
Old French, from Latin homicidium: homo, person, plus -cidium, killing; in English since the early 1200sMain types
Murder, manslaughter, justifiable and excusable homicideRegister
Formal; legal, police and news
Homicide meaning in law
To define homicide in legal terms: it is any act or failure to act by which one person causes another person's death. On its own, this homicide definition does not decide guilt. Courts then ask two questions: did the person intend to kill or cause serious harm, and was there a legal excuse or justification?
The answers place the act in a category. Broadly, homicide is either criminal (punishable) or non-criminal (lawful or excused). Exact names and rules vary between countries and, in the US, between states.
Types of homicide
| Type | Basic idea | Crime? |
|---|---|---|
| Murder | Killing with intent to kill or cause serious harm, or with extreme recklessness | Yes, the most serious |
| Voluntary manslaughter | Intentional killing under strong provocation or in the heat of passion | Yes |
| Involuntary manslaughter | Unintended death caused by recklessness or gross negligence | Yes |
| Justifiable homicide | Killing allowed by law, such as reasonable self-defense | No |
| Excusable homicide | A true accident with no negligence | No |
Some places also have specific offenses such as vehicular homicide, for deaths caused by dangerous driving.
How India frames it
Indian criminal law uses the term culpable homicide, meaning a blameworthy killing. It then separates culpable homicide that amounts to murder from culpable homicide not amounting to murder, depending mainly on the level of intention and knowledge and on special exceptions such as grave and sudden provocation. News reports in India often use this phrase in charge sheets and court rulings.
The word in news and medicine
In crime reporting, "homicide" often appears in statistics, such as a city's homicide rate per 100,000 residents. Police forces in many US cities have homicide units that investigate suspicious deaths. When a death certificate lists the manner of death as homicide, it means death at the hands of another person; it is a medical finding, not a verdict of murder.
Example sentences
- The detective had worked in the homicide division for twelve years.
- The jury found the death was a justifiable homicide committed in self-defense.
- Officials reported a small fall in homicides across the district.
- The driver now faces a charge of vehicular homicide.
Latin roots and word relatives
Homicide shows up in English texts of the early 1200s, carried over by Old French from Latin homicidium. The first part, homo, means a human being; the second comes from caedere, "to cut down" or "to kill." By the late 1300s the same spelling also meant the killer, from Latin homicida, though that sense is now rare.
The same ending appears in suicide, pesticide and genocide, which targets a whole people for destruction. Being formally charged with homicide is to be indicted in some systems, and the mental element in murder is often described in terms of malice.
Avoiding common confusions
Do not use homicide and murder as exact equals. All murders are homicides, but not all homicides are murders. Also note the spelling: it is homicide, not "homocide," a frequent typo. The adjective homicidal describes a person with an urge to kill, and in casual speech it is sometimes used as exaggeration ("the traffic makes me feel homicidal"), which many people find in poor taste. More legal vocabulary is collected under law, politics, society.
Frequently asked questions
How would you explain homicide simply?
Homicide means one person killing another. It covers both crimes like murder and lawful killings like reasonable self-defense.
Are homicide and murder the same thing?
Not quite. Every murder counts as a homicide, and it is the most serious kind, involving intent or extreme recklessness. Homicide is the wider term.
What is justifiable homicide?
It is a killing that the law permits, such as using reasonable force to defend yourself or others from deadly attack. Whether a killing is justified is decided by the facts and the local law.
What is culpable homicide?
It is the Indian legal term for a blameworthy killing. Depending on intention and circumstances, it may or may not amount to murder.
What does homicide mean on a death certificate?
It means the death was caused by another person. It is a medical classification of how someone died, not a legal finding of guilt.
How do you pronounce homicide?
Most people say HOM-uh-side. In the US, HOH-muh-side is also heard. The c sounds like s.