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
botch·er
ˈbä-chər
plural -s
: one that does bungling makeshift work
especially
: an incompetent writer
the unconscionable compromises of the artist with the botcher —
F. R. Leavis
F. R. Leavis 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
Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 10 June 2026
Chisolm followed with a liner off the base of the wall in right before scoring when second baseman Travis Bazzana botched a grounder.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
During last week's WWE SmackDown, a series of mistakes and botches drew harsh criticism from fans.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for botch
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show current usage.
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Verb
Chisholm's followed with a liner off the base of the wall in right before scoring when second baseman Travis Bazzana botched a grounder.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 10 June 2026
Chisolm followed with a liner off the base of the wall in right before scoring when second baseman Travis Bazzana botched a grounder.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
Noun
Of course this was a calculated power play, not a bureaucratic botch.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
During last week's WWE SmackDown, a series of mistakes and botches drew harsh criticism from fans.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for botch
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botch. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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Medical Definition
botch
noun
: an inflammatory sore
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
