impeach

1 of 2

verb

im·​peach im-ˈpēch 

impeached; impeaching; impeaches

transitive verb

1

: to charge with a crime or misdemeanor

specifically : to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal with misconduct in office

After Andrew Johnson, the first president to be impeached, finished his chaotic and disgraceful administration, Grant was the inevitable successor.

—Richard Brookhiser

2

: to cast doubt on

especially : to challenge the credibility or validity of

impeach the testimony of a witness

The Husby's credit rating was impeached because IRS managers were unable to stop the … computer from generating false information.

—David Burnham

A basic rule of evidence permits any witness to be impeached by establishing that she made a prior statement inconsistent with the current testimony.

—Jack H. Friedenthal et al.

impeachable

im-ˈpē-chə-bəl 

adjective

impeachment

im-ˈpēch-mənt 

noun

Does impeach mean "to remove from office"?: Usage Guide

Testimonial evidence indicates that references to (and calls for) "impeaching" a public official are commonly understood to refer not simply to charging that official with misconduct "before a competent tribunal," but to actually removing the official from office. The interpretation is understandable if not legally accurate, since removal from office is typically the goal of impeachment, and there seems to be little doubt that the "remove" sense is what many people have in mind when they think or talk about impeaching a president, governor, judge, or other official. But clear examples of impeach being used to mean "remove" in published sources are rarely seen (in many contexts, the meaning is ambiguous), and when such use does occur, it is likely to be cited as an error.

impeach

2 of 2

noun

obsolete

: charge, impeachment

Frequently Asked Questions

Are presidents removed from office when they are impeached?

Not necessarily. In the United States a president is impeached by the members of the House of Representatives. Once this body has drawn up charges and had them approved by a majority of House members, the Senate holds a trial. If a two-thirds majority of the Senate votes to convict then the president may be removed from office.

Which presidents were impeached?

Three Presidents of the United States have been impeached: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump.

Can people other than the President be impeached?

Impeachment procedures vary from country to country, but the United States Constitution states that "The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." A wide range of officials (including judges, presidents, and senators) have been impeached in the U.S.

Synonyms

Verb

• accuse
• charge
• criminate
• defame [archaic]
• incriminate
• indict

Examples of impeach in a Sentence

Verb

Congress will vote on whether or not to impeach the President.

The defense lawyers tried to impeach the witness's testimony by forcing him to admit that he had changed his story.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Still, McConnell voted to acquit Trump after House Democrats impeached him for inciting the riot. —L'oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024

The constitutional court ruled against a parliamentary vote to impeach the minister last year. —Reuters, NBC News, 1 Oct. 2024

That in turn led to more investigations and Nixon resigned as Congress was about to impeach him in 1974. —Ron Elving, NPR, 7 Sep. 2024

Liz Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump in 2021 and her role as vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee made the Cheneys irredeemable to Trump — and soon most of the GOP. —Mead Gruver, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English empechen, from Anglo-French empecher, enpechier to ensnare, impede, prosecute, from Late Latin impedicare to fetter, from Latin in- + pedica fetter, from ped-, pes foot — more at foot

First Known Use

Verb

1569, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1590, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

impeach

verb

im·​peach

im-ˈpēch

1

: to charge a public official formally with misconduct in office

2

: to cast doubt on

impeached the witness's testimony

impeachable

-ˈpē-chə-bəl

adjective

impeachment

-ˈpēch-mənt

noun

Legal Definition

impeach

transitive verb

im·​peach im-ˈpēch 

1

: to charge with a crime or misconduct

specifically : to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal (as the U.S. Senate) with misconduct in office

Note: Impeachment is the first step in removing an officer from office. The president, vice president, and other federal officers (as judges) may be impeached by the House of Representatives. (Members of Congress themselves are not removed by being impeached and tried, but rather are expelled by a two-thirds majority vote in the member's house.) The House draws up articles of impeachment that itemize the charges and their factual bases. The articles of impeachment, once approved by a simple majority of the House members, are then submitted to the Senate, thereby impeaching the officer. The Senate then holds a trial, at the conclusion of which each member votes for or against conviction on each article of impeachment. Two-thirds of the Senate members present must vote in favor of conviction. Once convicted, the officer can be removed from office. Although the Constitution specifies that an officer is to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, impeachment can also occur for misconduct that is not necessarily criminal (as violation of the Constitution). Because impeachment is the first step taken to remove an officer from office, impeach is often used in general contexts to refer to the removal itself, but that is not its specific legal meaning. An officer generally cannot be impeached for acts done prior to taking office.

2

: to cast doubt on: as

a

: to attack the validity of (a judgment or verdict) because of judicial or juror misconduct

b

: to challenge the credibility of (a witness) or the validity of (a witness's testimony)

a witness, including a criminal defendant who testifies in his own behalf, may be impeached on the ground of former conviction

—W. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, Jr.

see also impeachment evidence at evidence compare rehabilitate

Note: A witness may be impeached by character evidence or circumstantial evidence relating to the credibility of the witness, and especially on the grounds of prior convictions, prior inconsistent statements, contradiction by other evidence, and the witness's reputation for truth, prior acts of misconduct, and partiality.

impeachable adjective

impeachment noun

Etymology

Transitive verb

Anglo-French empecher, from Old French empeechier to hinder, from Late Latin impedicare to fetter, from Latin in- + pedica fetter, from ped-, pes foot