as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
the first time we tried to make a cake, we botched the job completely
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in jumble
an unorganized collection or mixture of various things
this police procedural is basically a botch of plot elements stolen from other (and better) novels
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of botch
Cody Turner, The Conversation, 1 May 2026
On Monday night in Cleveland, a grown man in the Progressive Field bleachers created a ruckus by botching a home run catch and then stealing the ball from the young girl who was trying to pick it up on the rebound.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
Those communication botches, whether on the break or in the half court, often include Towns, who once again vanished as a scorer.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for botch
Verb
Such was the scale of frustration that Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, had to acknowledge that the rollout was botched, and the company reinstated access.
—Cody Turner, The Conversation, 1 May 2026
On Monday night in Cleveland, a grown man in the Progressive Field bleachers created a ruckus by botching a home run catch and then stealing the ball from the young girl who was trying to pick it up on the rebound.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
The 10-member panel’s first time out, in 2022, was a total botch, as the process was unconstitutionally hijacked by Democrats in the Legislature until it was stopped by the state’s highest court.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
Those communication botches, whether on the break or in the half court, often include Towns, who once again vanished as a scorer.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for botch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for botch
Verb
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The stress of getting to your airport gate on time, coupled with the excitement of getting to your destination, can cause even the most seasoned of travelers to fumble at security checkpoints.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
17 May 2026
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Santillan appears to be fumbling away his opportunity, allowing nine runs (eight earned) over his last five appearances.—
Mike Barner,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.—
Madison Chapman,
Outside,
25 Mar. 2026
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Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But second-year point guard Carla Leite, who had hurt her ankle earlier in the evening, blew by Jones in isolation to tie the score 96-96 with 27 seconds to play.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
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Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
12 May 2026
Noun
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Out of the 50 Tuscan DOCs and DOCGs in which Sangiovese is the main grape, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is considered the apex of the variety.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
15 May 2026
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There are moments that end up on the cutting floor due to a variety of reasons, either personnel on screen asking for privacy or the fact that there’s a very quick turnaround time.—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
15 May 2026
Verb
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San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who polled at 5% in the CBS survey, accused Becerra of bungling the federal government’s response to COVID-19, mpox and the influx in child migrants under former President Joe Biden.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Authorities bungle the case but still arrest a maintenance worker for the killings.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
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On the plus side, the Rays have a versatile assortment of relievers who can provide different arm angles and styles from inning to inning.—
John Romano,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 May 2026
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What is clear, however, is that the aye-aye’s comical assortment of features definitely isn’t incidental.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Since 2015, it has been held in ten different cities, including Las Vegas, where a red carpet was constructed atop the Bellagio’s fountain pool, and Nashville, where rowdy attendees ruined bachelorette parties on Broadway.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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Many riads were in a state of disrepair, crammed with striking examples of traditional craftsmanship going to ruin.—
Rebecca Ann Hughes,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Paul McCartney, 15 months after closing out Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary special with a memorable Abbey Road medley, returned to the late night show with a performance of the lead single from his upcoming album, as well as a Wings classic.—
William Vaillancourt,
Rolling Stone,
17 May 2026
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In addition to the excellent medley of flavors, this soup is a cinch to prepare.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/botch. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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