im·peach (?m-p?ch?)tr.v. im·peached, im·peach·ing, im·peach·es 1. a. To make an accusation against: impeach someone of a crime.b. To bring formal charges against (a public official) for wrongdoing while in office.2. To raise doubts about; discredit or disparage: impeach a witness’s credibility; impeach someone’s character.[Middle English empechen, to impede, accuse, from Anglo-Norman empecher, from Late Latin impedic?re, to entangle : Latin in-, in; see in-2 + Latin pedica, fetter; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]im·peach?a·ble adj. im·peach?a·bil?i·ty n.im·peach?er n.im·peach?ment n.Usage Note: When an irate citizen demands that a disfavored public official be impeached, the citizen clearly intends for the official to be removed from office. This popular use of impeach as a synonym of “throw out” (even if by due process) does not accord with the legal meaning of the word. When a public official is impeached, that is, formally accused of wrongdoing, this is only the start of what can be a lengthy process that may or may not lead to the official’s removal from office. In strict usage, an official is impeached (accused), tried, and then convicted or acquitted. The vaguer use of impeach reflects disgruntled citizens’ indifference to whether the official is forced from office by legal means or chooses to resign to avoid further disgrace.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.impeachment (?m?pi?t?m?nt) n1. (Parliamentary Procedure) rare (in England) committal by the House of Commons, esp of a minister of the Crown, for trial by the House of Lords. The last instance occurred in 18052. (Law) (in the US) a proceeding brought against a federal government official3. (Law) an accusation or charge4. obsolete discredit; reproachCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014im?peach?ment (?m?pit? m?nt) n. 1. the act of impeaching; condition of being impeached. 2. (in the U.S. Congress or a state legislature) the presentation of charges against a public official by the lower house, with trial to be before the upper house. [1350?1400; Middle English