impeach

American  

[im-peech] / ɪmˈpitʃ /

verb (used with object)

• impeaches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• impeached,
  past participle,  past
• impeaching
  present participle

1. to accuse (a public official) before an appropriate tribunal of misconduct in office.

2. Chiefly Law. to challenge the credibility of.

   to impeach a witness.

3. to bring an accusation against.

4. to call in question; cast an imputation upon.

   to impeach a person's motives.

   Synonyms:

   impugn, challenge, question

5. to call to account.

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noun

1. Obsolete. impeachment.

impeach British  

/ ɪmˈpiːtʃ /

verb

1. criminal law to bring a charge or accusation against

2. criminal law to accuse of a crime, esp of treason or some other offence against the state

3. to charge (a public official) with an offence committed in office

4. to challenge or question (a person's honesty, integrity, etc)

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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

• impeacher
  noun
• unimpeached
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• impeaching
  present
• impeached
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• impeach
  simple
• impeaches
  simple
• have impeached
  perfect
• has impeached
  perfect
• am impeaching
  progressive
• are impeaching
  progressive
• is impeaching
  progressive
• have been impeaching
  perfect progressive
• has been impeaching
  perfect progressive

Past

• impeached
  simple
• had impeached
  perfect
• was impeaching
  progressive
• were impeaching
  progressive
• had been impeaching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will impeach
  simple
• will have impeached
  perfect
• will be impeaching
  progressive
• will have been impeaching
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impeach impeaches impeached impeaching

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

Peru's Congress is set to consider Tuesday whether to impeach interim president Jose Jeri, the country's seventh head of state in 10 years, accused of the irregular hiring of several women in his government.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

“I wouldn’t vote to impeach the president,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025

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

If a majority of the Assembly impeaches her, she is sidelined indefinitely, even if the state Senate doesn’t convict her.

From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2023

If the House impeaches Paxton, he would be forced to leave office immediately.

From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2023

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

If he tells an unnatural story, that impeaches him.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 10 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Legal by Robert Green Ingersoll

When Johnson appeared to violate that second law by firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, the House impeached him.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

They swept to victory last June, after the disgraced former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached for a bizarre six-hour attempt to declare martial law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

“The news reports following Xavier’s death impeached his character,” Aaron says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

The next year, he was impeached by the Texas House.

From Salon ● May 23, 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

“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

How would impeaching a Supreme Court justice actually work?

From Slate ● May 8, 2023

Knodl has said he’s not interested in impeaching Evers, saying he has been able to work with the governor.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 5, 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

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