Impeaching someone means formally accusing a public official of serious misconduct through a legal–political process, usually by a legislature, which can then lead to a trial and possibly removal from office.

Basic meaning

  • To impeach a public official is to bring formal charges that they abused their power or committed serious wrongdoing, not to automatically remove them.
  • It is similar to an indictment in criminal law: it starts the process but does not, by itself, decide guilt or remove the person.

Where the word is used

  • In politics, impeachment is a process used by a parliament or congress to charge presidents, judges, or other officials with “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,” or other serious misconduct defined by that country’s law or constitution.
  • In general legal language, “impeach” can also mean to challenge or cast doubt on something, like impeaching (attacking) the credibility of a witness in court.

What impeachment involves (example: U.S.)

  • A legislative body (like the U.S. House of Representatives) votes on articles of impeachment—these are the official written charges.
  • If passed, the official is “impeached,” and a separate body (like the Senate) holds a trial to decide whether to convict and remove them from office and possibly bar them from future office.
  • The purpose is to protect the system of government and maintain constitutional order, not to serve as a criminal punishment; the person can still face normal criminal prosecution separately.

Common misunderstanding

  • People often use “impeach” as if it means “kick out of office,” but technically impeachment is only the charging step; removal happens only if there is a conviction after the impeachment trial.

Mini SEO-style notes

  • Focus phrase: what does it mean to impeach someone – it refers to formally charging a public official with serious misconduct through a constitutional or legal process, which can then lead to a trial and possible removal.
  • “Trending context”: Impeachment often becomes a hot forum and news topic during political crises or when presidents or judges face accusations of abusing power.

In forum discussions, you’ll often see people mix up “being impeached” (formally charged) with “being removed from office” (convicted after the trial), which are two separate steps.

TL;DR: To impeach someone is to officially charge a public official with serious misconduct through a special constitutional process, which may then lead to a trial and possible removal—but impeachment itself is just the charging step, not the removal.