botch

1 of 3

noun (1)

: an inflammatory sore

botch

2 of 3

verb

botched; botching; botches

transitive verb

1
: to foul up hopelessly
often used with up
2
: to put together in a makeshift way
botcher noun

botch

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: something that is botched : mess
2
botchy adjective

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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Arizona remained white hot for Orton despite his botch and generally doing very little in the match. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 In one of the first botches of the night, Ripley and Jax botched a hurricanrana. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 This is a disgrace, an extreme, unexplainable botch. San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2023 Giménez botches bunt, homers instead to lead Guardians past White Sox in 4-2 win The chirping between Anderson, Chicago’s shortstop, and Arias, Cleveland’s first baseman, started well before the sixth-inning fight between Anderson and Jose Ramirez. Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 6 Aug. 2023 The botch required the rescoring of 300,000 exams, scholastic victims of the knotty coin rotation paradox. Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 20 June 2023 These games are a moral botch. James Parker, The Atlantic, 19 Nov. 2022 There was an early botch on a leapfrog that seemed to drag this match down, especially with the crowd being mostly silent for it. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021 The 1961 Cuba invasion was an epic presidential botch—and yet, Kennedy’s standing improved afterward. Fredrik Logevall, The New Republic, 24 Aug. 2021
Verb
Almost every season, the state of refereeing seems to be in a crisis of one kind or another, as game-swinging calls are missed or botched. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024 Derrell Hill had a problem with a woman who had botched her ballot at the polling place and had also received a mail-in ballot. Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2024 Moxley botched a wide open layup that would have cut the visitor’s lead to three with just under five minutes left. Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 After botching a drug bust, FBI agents Marcus (Marlon Wayans) and Kevin Copeland (Shawn Wayans) are tasked with babysitting the wealthy Wilson sisters during a weekend in the Hamptons. Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 Texas execution occurs hours after 'botched' Idaho execution Cantu's execution came hours after the execution of an Idaho man was called off after a medical team was unable to complete the lethal injection. James Powel, USA TODAY, 29 Feb. 2024 In one of the first botches of the night, Ripley and Jax botched a hurricanrana. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 Both Smith and Miller had initially been scheduled to die by lethal injection, but Smith's first execution attempt was botched and Miller's was called off. S. Dev, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2024 Finishing 45th overall, Mr. Trump trails even the mid-19th-century failures who blundered the country into a civil war or botched its aftermath like James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce and Andrew Johnson. Peter Baker, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024

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.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English boche, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *bottia boss

Verb

Middle English bocchen

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of botch was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near botch

Cite this Entry

“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botch. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

botch

1 of 2 verb
: to make or do something in a clumsy or unskillful way : spoil, bungle

botch

2 of 2 noun
: a botched job : mess
botchy
adjective

Medical Definition

botch

noun
: an inflammatory sore

More from Merriam-Webster on botch

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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