impeach
Americanverb (used with object)
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to accuse (a public official) before an appropriate tribunal of misconduct in office.
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Chiefly Law. to challenge the credibility of.
to impeach a witness.
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to bring an accusation against.
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to call in question; cast an imputation upon.
to impeach a person's motives.
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to call to account.
noun
verb
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criminal law to bring a charge or accusation against
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criminal law to accuse of a crime, esp of treason or some other offence against the state
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to charge (a public official) with an offence committed in office
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to challenge or question (a person's honesty, integrity, etc)
Usage
What does impeach mean? Impeach means to formally accuse a public official of misconduct committed while in office. The act or process of impeaching or the state of being impeached is called impeachment. An offense that is cause for someone to be impeached can be called an impeachable offense. In the U. S., the word impeach is closely associated with the act of officially bringing charges of misconduct against a sitting president (though other federal officials can be impeached). Impeaching an official is not the same as convicting them or removing them from office—to impeach is simply to formally present charges against them. Under U. S. law (specifically Article I of the Constitution), the House of Representatives has the power to formally accuse federal officials of misconduct by impeaching them. According to the Constitution, an official can be impeached if they are alleged to have committed treason, bribery, or “other high crimes and misdemeanors” (this vague term covers a number of offenses but is the subject of debate). If the House votes to impeach, the Senate then conducts an impeachment trial. In order for the person to be found guilty, two-thirds of the Senate must vote in favor of conviction. If found guilty, the official is removed from office (and may be forbidden from holding political office again, depending on the ruling of the Senate). In a more general legal context, to impeach a witness is to question their credibility. The word impeach can also be used in a more general way meaning to call into question, as in How can you impeach my motives if you don’t know me? It can also mean to challenge or call to account, as in We must impeach such behavior, not condone it. Example: Representatives have said they will impeach the president if he refuses to resign.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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impeachsimple
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impeachessimple
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have impeachedperfect
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has impeachedperfect
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am impeachingprogressive
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are impeachingprogressive
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is impeachingprogressive
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have been impeachingperfect progressive
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has been impeachingperfect progressive
Past
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impeachedsimple
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had impeachedperfect
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was impeachingprogressive
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were impeachingprogressive
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had been impeachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of impeach
1350–1400; Middle English empechen, enpeshen < Anglo-French empecher < Late Latin impedicāre to fetter, trap, equivalent to Latin im- im- 1 + pedic ( a ) a fetter (derivative of pēs foot ) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix
Explanation
Impeach means to charge someone with doing something wrong, specifically a high government official, such as the U.S. president, a senator, or a federal judge. Fortunately, very few presidents have had the dishonor of being impeached. If you impeach a president, you charge him or her with a crime. Congress may vote to impeach a president, but being impeached is only the first step in removing an official from office. Impeach comes from the Latin impedicare, meaning "catch, entangle." To impeach also means to cast doubt on someone's character. In a courtroom, a lawyer could impeach the credibility of a witness in order to discredit whatever that person said.
Vocabulary lists containing impeach
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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.
See Examples For:
There have been calls, within his own party, to investigate and impeach the governor, who had been spoken of as a potential presidential candidate in 2028.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
That practice by Nixon of dangling pardons was in fact one of the grounds on which the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach him.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to impeach Jeri, who was serving as interim president after massive protests last year ousted Boluarte, Peru's first woman leader who served for only 22 months.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
By then, parliament had voted to impeach him, but he was not yet removed from office.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
Russo told reporters he was going to turn his attention to the effort to impeach President Nixon.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
This includes evidence that impeaches the prosecutor’s case.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 13, 2022
The House of Representatives impeaches the president by bringing formal charges against the president, and the Senate tries the case in a proceeding overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021
"Once the House impeaches, the House has impeached the president. And then that hearing goes to the Senate," she said on Tuesday, according to MSNBC.
From Fox News ● Sep. 10, 2019
If the House impeaches a governor, the Senate then chooses a special commission of seven circuit or appellate court judges to hear the case.
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2018
When the House of Representatives impeaches an officer of the United States, the impeachment is tried before the Senate sitting as a court.
From Elements of Civil Government by Peterman, Alexander L.
“The news reports following Xavier’s death impeached his character,” Aaron says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
In 2023 he was impeached by the Republican-led state House of Representatives on charges of bribery, abuse of office and obstruction of justice.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
In that case, the House unanimously impeached War Secretary William Belknap for taking personal financial kickbacks—not because of policy decisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
He was impeached on 14 December, and on 3 January – after confining himself inside the presidential residence for two-and-a-half weeks – arrested.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026
There were certain points in certain years—say from 1996 to 2002—when Angela Whitiker didn’t yet know that Tupac Shakur had been killed or that President Bill Clinton had been impeached.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
From resisting foreign invasions during the monarchy to championing pro-democracy movements and impeaching scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye in 2017, vigilant citizens have held politicians accountable and strengthened the nation’s political system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2024
He’s been under investigation by the FBI since 2020 over corruption allegations—the same ones Texas lawmakers tried impeaching him over—and he faces a civil lawsuit brought by former aides.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2024
“We’re supposed to impeach on high crimes and misdemeanors,” said Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska and a moderate who previously stated he opposed impeaching Mr. Mayorkas over a policy disagreement.
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2023
“The idea of impeaching the secretary is ridiculous,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Democrat and Congressional Progressive Caucus chair.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
Supreme Court has long required that the prosecution disclose to the defendant anything that is exculpatory or that may be helpful to the defendant in impeaching a witness.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
