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Synonyms

botch

1 American  
[boch] / bɒtʃ /

verb (used with object)

  1. to spoil by poor work; bungle (often followed byup ).

    He botched up the job thoroughly.
    Synonyms:
    flub, butcher, muff, mismanage, ruin

  2. to do or say in a bungling manner.

  3. to mend or patch in a clumsy manner.

noun

  1. a clumsy or poor piece of work; bungle.

    He made a complete botch of his first attempt at baking.

  2. a clumsily added part or patch.

  3. a disorderly or confused combination.

botch 2 American  
[boch] / bɒtʃ /

noun

  1. a swelling on the skin; a boil.

  2. an eruptive disease.

botch British  
/ bɒtʃ /

verb

  1. to spoil through clumsiness or ineptitude

  2. to repair badly or clumsily

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. Also called: botch-up.  a badly done piece of work or repair (esp in the phrase make a botch of ( something ))

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • botcher noun
  • botchery noun

Etymology

Origin of botch1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bocchen “to patch up”; perhaps to be identified with bocchen “to swell up, bulge” (verbal derivative of bocche botch 2 ), though sense development unclear

Origin of botch2

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bocche, botch(e), from Old North French boche, dialectal variant of Old French, Middle French boce boss 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When Salmond died, aged 69, he had been suing the Scottish government over a botched investigation into harassment complaints made about him.

From BBC

A botched surgery onboard would raise questions of legal rights and compensation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some home fans left Allianz Stadium early in the Ireland match, while fly-half George Ford was ironically cheered for finding touch after two earlier botched efforts.

From BBC

The Los Angeles County Fire Department oversaw the response of the Eaton fire, and it has come under intense scrutiny over the botched alerts and limited firefighting resources on the west side of town.

From Los Angeles Times

Nasa has labelled the botched 2024 Starliner mission, which left two astronauts stranded in space for months, a "Type A" mishap, on par with fatal shuttle disasters of the past, in a newly published report.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.