To impeach means to charge a public official with a crime or misconduct. In politics, it could mean to proceed against a public official for their crime or malfeasance before a court using articles of impeachment.
To impeach could also mean to accuse, charge liability upon or sue. One could also use the word impeach to mean to dispute, disparage, deny, or contradict; see Wolfgram v. Town of Schoepke. In the law of evidence, impeachment would mean to call in the question of a witness's veracity. Impeachment would be used to challenge testimony or other evidence by accusing the witness. To impeach could mean challenging the accuracy or authenticity of a legal document.
[Last updated in March of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]