Which statement best defines homicide?

• A. A natural act of killing
• B. The act of one human taking the life of another
• C. An accidental killing
• D. A legal term for self-defense

Answer: (B)

Homicide is defined as the act of one human taking the life of another. This is a broad term that includes deaths caused by a person, regardless of whether the act was intentional, accidental, or justified. The description that calls homicide a natural act of killing doesn’t fit, since natural causes aren’t killings by a person. The description that frames it as an accidental killing narrows the concept to unintentional cases, whereas homicide covers both intentional and unintentional killings. The description that presents it as a legal term for self-defense isn’t the definition either—self-defense is a justification or defense that can excuse or diminish liability, but it doesn’t define what homicide means.