impeachment

/ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt/

//ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt// noun

"impeachment" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“impeachment” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,174. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,174
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-impeachment · impeachment · English

impeachment · rank #13,174 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,174
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH humility

Nearest frequency peer: humility (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “impeachment”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “impeachment” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for impeachment
PropertyValue
Headwordimpeachment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt/
Letters11
Frequency rank#13,174
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “impeachment” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).impeachmentlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “humility” (#13,173), “inherently” (#13,175), “hum” (#13,172). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around impeachment (IPA /ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,174 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for impeachment, with forms such as "imepachment", "immpeachment", and "impaechment". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English empechement (“hindrance, impediment, obstacle, obstruction; legal accusation or charge; act of calling into question or discrediting; challenge to a claim or right”), and thence either: * from Middle English empechen, empeschen, empesche… The correct English form is impeachment, spelled I-M-P-E-A-C-H-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
  2. 2
    The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
  3. 3
    The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
  4. 4
    The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
  5. 5
    The state of being impeached.
  6. 6
    Hindrance; impediment; obstruction.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how impeachment appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] Nevertheleſs there was no ſo much care, labour, ſtudy, and diligence employed on our Party, by them, our ſelf, and other, for attaining your Grace's Purpoſe, but there was as much done by others for the lett and empeachment of the ſame; […]
  2. The leaſt may thinke upon Fabius Maximus, who with an honourable obſtinacy purſued the courſe of his owne platforme, notwithſtanding a thouſand empeachments; and although ſlowly, with much murmuring, yet effectually with more reputation, atchieved his politicke purpoſe: [...]

Etymology

From Middle English empechement (“hindrance, impediment, obstacle, obstruction; legal accusation or charge; act of calling into question or discrediting; challenge to a claim or right”), and thence either: * from Middle English empechen, empeschen, empesche, enpechen, impechen (“to cause to get stuck; of a ship: to run aground; to block, obstruct; to hinder, impede; to prevent; to interfere with, harm; to criticize, disparage; to bring charges against; to formally accuse of treason or another high crime”) (from Anglo-Norman empecher, Old French empechier, empeechier) + -ment (suffix forming action nouns, concrete nouns, and nouns indicating a result or a condition or state); or * from Old French empechement, empeechement, empeschement (“obstacle”) (modern French empêchement (“impediment, obstacle”)), from empeechier (“to fetter; to hinder”), empescher (“to inhibit, prevent”) + -ment (suffix forming nouns from verbs). The English word is analysable as impeach + -ment. Old French empechier, empeechier and empescher (compare modern French empêcher) are derived from Late Latin impedicāre (“to catch; to entangle”), present active infinitive of Latin impedicō (“to entangle; to fetter”), from im- (variant of in-) + pedica (“fetter, shackle; snare, trap”) (from pēs (“foot”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“to step, walk; to fall, stumble”)) + -ō. In senses 1.2 (“accusation that a person has committed a crime”) and 1.3 (“act of impeaching or charging a public official with misconduct”), the word has been used in place of Latin impetere, the present active infinitive of impetō (“to assail, attack, rush upon”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imepachment
  • immpeachment
  • impaechment
  • impeacchment
  • impeachemnt
  • impeachhment
  • impeachmennt
  • impeachmentt
  • impeachmetn
  • impeachmment
  • impeachmnet
  • impeacmhent
  • impeahcment
  • impecahment
  • imppeachment
  • ipmeachment
  • mipeachment

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of impeachment - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

imepachment2immpeachment1impaechment2impeacchment1impeachemnt2impeachhment1impeachmennt1impeachmentt1
Edit distance from "impeachment"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "impeachment"?
"impeachment" is spelled I-M-P-E-A-C-H-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt/.
What does "impeachment" mean?
As a noun, "impeachment" means: The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
What are common misspellings of "impeachment"?
Common misspellings include "imepachment", "immpeachment", "impaechment", "impeacchment", "impeachemnt". The correct spelling is "impeachment".
How do you pronounce "impeachment"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "impeachment" is /ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "impeachment"?
From Middle English empechement (“hindrance, impediment, obstacle, obstruction; legal accusation or charge; act of calling into question or discrediting; challenge to a claim or right”), and thence either: * from Middle English empechen, empeschen... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "impeachment", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "impeachment". Here's where to go from here.

  • 17 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #13,174 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list