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
Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
In Week 13, the Las Vegas Raiders botched a snap with 15 seconds remaining in regulation and lost a fumble, ending a potential game-winning drive while already in field goal range.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025
Darren Franich, EW.com, 7 Jan. 2025
After a botch in the corner, the announce team continued to tell the story that LA Knight couldn’t get anything going and was not in the right mental space to contend with The Nakataker.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for botch 
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Still, the decision to first turn to DeVito before Lock after benching Jones shows how badly the team botched the evaluation of Lock as a viable option in the offseason.
—Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
In Week 13, the Las Vegas Raiders botched a snap with 15 seconds remaining in regulation and lost a fumble, ending a potential game-winning drive while already in field goal range.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
Spider-Man 3 (2007) A botch job of oppositional motivations practically disowned by its own director, the messiest Spider-Man movie is a near-constant tonal misfire, simultaneously more serious than its predecessors and more willfully goofy.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 7 Jan. 2025
After a botch in the corner, the announce team continued to tell the story that LA Knight couldn’t get anything going and was not in the right mental space to contend with The Nakataker.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for botch
Articles Related to botch
Dictionary Entries Near botch
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botch. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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Medical Definition
botch
noun
: an inflammatory sore
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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