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
Koh Ewe, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024
Walz botches a common football term, social media users immediately crush him.
—Fox News, 29 Oct. 2024
Brian Mazique, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024
The team of Canadians took advantage of the botch and took gold by seven-hundredths of a second over South Africa.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for botch 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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about these examples.
Verb
The Tatmadaw may be the most powerful institution in Myanmar and has ruled the country for many of the years since its independence—by decree, political maneuvering, and constitutional provisions—but the military leadership, analysts say, has a history of botching things.
—Koh Ewe, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024
Walz botches a common football term, social media users immediately crush him.
—Fox News, 29 Oct. 2024
Noun
If Tonga Loa is trusted again to play a significant role in this feud after a few high-profile botches, yet another member of the Samoan Dynasty could be called upon to even the odds.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024
The team of Canadians took advantage of the botch and took gold by seven-hundredths of a second over South Africa.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 9 Aug. 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 8 Nov. 2024.
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Medical Definition
botch
noun
: an inflammatory sore
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