botched; botching; botches
1
: to foul up hopelessly
—often used with up
2
: to put together in a makeshift way
botcher
noun
2
: an inflammatory sore
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 (1)
- 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 (1)
this police procedural is basically a botch of plot elements stolen from other (and better) novels
Recent Examples on the Web
Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 19 Sep. 2024
The Chapek saga is a lesson in the dire consequences of botching the process — and an urgent reminder that Disney can’t afford to mess this up again.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 19 Sep. 2024
The request comes as wolf advocates and opponents unite in frustration over how Gov. Jared Polis' administration has botched the reintroduction of wolves in the first year of the effort.
—John Frank, Axios, 18 Sep. 2024
The mistakes kept piling after that for the Rams, who turned the ball over three more times on CU’s side of the field with a Keegan Holles fumble, Fowler-Nicolosi interception and botched snap from center Jacob Gardner.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for botch 
Verb
On the other case, police botched their new review and did nothing.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 19 Sep. 2024
The Chapek saga is a lesson in the dire consequences of botching the process — and an urgent reminder that Disney can’t afford to mess this up again.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 19 Sep. 2024
The request comes as wolf advocates and opponents unite in frustration over how Gov. Jared Polis' administration has botched the reintroduction of wolves in the first year of the effort.
—John Frank, Axios, 18 Sep. 2024
The mistakes kept piling after that for the Rams, who turned the ball over three more times on CU’s side of the field with a Keegan Holles fumble, Fowler-Nicolosi interception and botched snap from center Jacob Gardner.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 15 Sep. 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.
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Dictionary Entries Near botch
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botch. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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Medical Definition
botch
noun
: an inflammatory sore
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