botched

American

[bocht] / bɒtʃt /

adjective

spoiled by poor or clumsy work; bungled.

The teachers are up in arms about the botched rollout of the new standards, which caused unnecessary confusion and stress for them and their students.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of botch.

Other Word Forms

botchedly

adverb

Etymology

Origin of botched

botch ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

Victoria’s Secret, Einhorn says, has been beaten up among a “woke” cultural backlash, botched acquisition, and tariffs.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

Four people have been arrested during a dawn raid on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud following an investigation into the government's botched home insulation scheme.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

The botched rollout drew criticism, including from prominent blogger John Gruber, who said Apple “squandered” its credibility by advertising features it couldn’t properly deliver.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

The widow and two children of Santos Ramos have sued Risher Mortuary & Cremation Service, alleging that the Montebello-based funeral home botched Ramos’ embalming and deprived the family of a meaningful final farewell.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

The two girls in front of Cora made cross-eyes at each other and giggled at his botched sounds.

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