impeach Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb challenge the honesty or veracity of
    • the lawyers tried to impeach the credibility of the witnesses
  2. verb charge (a public official) with an offense or misdemeanor committed while in office
    • The President was impeached
  3. verb bring an accusation against; level a charge against
    incriminate; accuse; criminate.
    • The neighbors accused the man of spousal abuse

WordNet

Im*peach" transitive verb
Etymology
OE. empeechier to prevent, hinder, bar, F. empêcher, L. impedicare to entangle; pref. im- in + pedica fetter, fr. pes, pedis, foot. See Foot, and Appeach, Dispatch, Impede.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Impeached ; present participle & verbal noun Impeaching
Definitions
  1. To hinder; to impede; to prevent. Obs.
    These ungracious practices of his sons did impeach his journey to the Holy Land. Sir J. Davies.
    A defluxion on my throat impeached my utterance. Howell.
  2. To charge with a crime or misdemeanor; to accuse; especially to charge (a public officer), before a competent tribunal, with misbehavior in office; to cite before a tribunal for judgement of official misconduct; to arraign; as, to impeach a judge. See Impeachment.
  3. Hence, to charge with impropriety; to dishonor; to bring discredit on; to call in question; as, to impeach one's motives or conduct.
    And doth impeach the freedom of the state. Shak.
  4. (Law) To challenge or discredit the credibility of, as of a witness, or the validity of, as of commercial paper. ✍ When used in law with reference to a witness, the term signifies, to discredit, to show or prove unreliable or unworthy of belief; when used in reference to the credit of witness, the term denotes, to impair, to lessen, to disparage, to destroy. The credit of a witness may be impeached by showing that he has made statements out of court contradictory to what he swears at the trial, or by showing that his reputation for veracity is bad, etc. Syn. -- To accuse; arraign; censure; criminate; indict; impair; disparage; discredit. See Accuse.
Im*peach" noun
Definitions
  1. Hindrance; impeachment. Obs.

Webster 1913