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
Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024
The report accuses President Joe Biden and his deputies, especially the acting ambassador to Kabul, of botching the 2021 pullout by reducing troop levels while keeping a large embassy staff in place and failing to prepare evacuation plans.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for botch 
Verb
That year, state lawmakers had a once-in-a-decade chance to redraw the state’s political maps, and botched it: the State Supreme Court decided that the map Democrats wanted was unconstitutionally gerrymandered, and ordered a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University to produce a fairer one.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024
The report accuses President Joe Biden and his deputies, especially the acting ambassador to Kabul, of botching the 2021 pullout by reducing troop levels while keeping a large embassy staff in place and failing to prepare evacuation plans.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2024
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
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 12 Oct. 2024.
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Medical Definition
botch
noun
: an inflammatory sore
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