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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.

After deciding on Hutchins, Souza said he told the film’s producers and production managers to hire her: “Please don’t botch the deal because she’s really great.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2024

He’ll botch a gig over his annoyance at not being allowed to call a stranger by a pet name she reserves for her closest friend.

From Salon • Feb. 9, 2024

It was a stunning botch job from a ruthless finisher.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2023

The botch required the rescoring of 300,000 exams, scholastic victims of the knotty coin rotation paradox.

From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023

How to capture that profile in wood, preserve her grace and strength—he didn’t trust himself not to botch it.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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.