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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But Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace hit three-pointers while Smart was fumbling the ball and James and Hachimura were missing shots, while an Oklahoma City 8-0 run eventually gave them another 13-point lead that was never again challenged.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
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As print and television media fumbled their way online, Gawker used the internet to pull back the curtain on celebrity, mainstream media, politics and creeping commercialism.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
HollywoodReporter,
8 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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In the coming weeks, Berkebile, along with his colleague Brian Weinberg, will lead a variety of projects, including building a parking lot and welcome plaza equipped with benches and informational signage about the forest.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 2026
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The company started importing goods from Chinese vendors two years ago to make up for a dearth of suppliers in Africa who can deliver a wide variety of large orders at scale with favorable prices, Dufay said.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
8 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
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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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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
10 May 2026
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On Friday, a pitchers’ duel was ruined by a circus act of an inning, and the Cardinals beat the Padres 6-0.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
Noun
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And the team's beloved mascot, Ellie the Elephant, paid tribute to Whitney Houston during a halftime show that included a medley of song, dance and and other hijinx that the elephant has gone viral for.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
9 May 2026
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Each blend is designed and labeled to meet a specific need by blending a medley of vitamins.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/botch. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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