Zend Certified PHP Engineer (ZCPE) Practice Test

To define a static method in a PHP class, the appropriate keyword to use is "static." When you declare a method as static, it can be called directly on the class itself rather than on instances of the class. This means that you do not need to create an object of the class to use the static method, making it useful for utility functions or when the method does not need to operate on instance data.

In the context of other options, using the "const" keyword is designated for defining class constants, which are fixed values that cannot be changed after declaration. The "self" keyword is used to refer to the current class from within the class itself but is not relevant for defining static methods. Lastly, "method" is not a valid keyword in PHP for defining methods at all.

Thus, "static" is the correct keyword specifically designed for this purpose, enabling easier access to methods related to class-level operations rather than instance-level ones.