botch
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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a clumsy or poor piece of work; bungle.
He made a complete botch of his first attempt at baking.
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a clumsily added part or patch.
-
a disorderly or confused combination.
noun
-
a swelling on the skin; a boil.
-
an eruptive disease.
verb
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to spoil through clumsiness or ineptitude
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to repair badly or clumsily
noun
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Also called: botch-up. a badly done piece of work or repair (esp in the phrase make a botch of ( something ))
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.
To not only botch this chance but also to do so without even scoring a touchdown?
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 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
What a terrible thing it is to botch a farewell.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.