botched; botching; botches
1
: to foul up hopelessly
—often used with up
2
: to put together in a makeshift way
botcher
noun
2
Synonyms
Verb
- blow
- bobble
- boggle
- bollix (up)
- boot
- bugger (up)
- bumble
- bungle
- butcher
- dub
- flub
- fluff
- foozle
- foul up
- fumble
- goof (up)
- louse up
- mangle
- mess (up)
- muck up
- muff
- murder
- screw up
Noun (2)
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- clutter
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hodgepodge
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- litter
- macédoine
- medley
- mélange
- menagerie
- miscellanea
- miscellany
- mishmash
- mixed bag
- montage
- motley
- muddle
- olio
- olla podrida
- omnium-gatherum
- pastiche
- patchwork
- patchwork quilt
- potpourri
- ragbag
- ragout
- rummage
- salad
- salmagundi
- scramble
- shuffle
- smorgasbord
- stew
- tumble
- variety
- welter
Examples of botch in a Sentence
Verb
The store botched the order—I received only half the books I paid for.
They clearly botched the investigation.
Noun (2)
this police procedural is basically a botch of plot elements stolen from other (and better) novels
Recent Examples on the Web
John Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 17 Jan. 2012
Arizona remained white hot for Orton despite his botch and generally doing very little in the match.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 10 June 2024
Police and sheriff’s departments have enabled predators by botching background checks, ignoring red flags and mishandling investigations.
—Nate Jones, Washington Post, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for botch 
Noun
However, as Jonathan's government botches both issues, the question over his government will move from one of corruption to one of competency.
—John Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 17 Jan. 2012
Arizona remained white hot for Orton despite his botch and generally doing very little in the match.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
A day earlier, massive traffic crashed the Michigan Central website and botched the original registration plan.
—Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 10 June 2024
Police and sheriff’s departments have enabled predators by botching background checks, ignoring red flags and mishandling investigations.
—Nate Jones, Washington Post, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for botch
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'botch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near botch
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botch. Accessed 30 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
botch
noun
: an inflammatory sore
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share