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.

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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.

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botch British  

/ bɒtʃ /

verb

1. to spoil through clumsiness or ineptitude

2. to repair badly or clumsily

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noun

1. 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

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

Even before the Fail Mary, players, coaches and fans had already grown frustrated with weeks of botched calls.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Governments in developing economies are botching the job far too often, but not because industrial policy itself is the wrong choice,” wrote Gill.

From The Wall Street Journal

Too late, I realized my misstep—Anna May had wanted to use my arrival as an excuse to end the interview, and I’d botched that for her.

From Literature

Come April 15, it’s hard to hide losses from stock sales or other botched investment schemes.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• bobble
• bumble
• bungle
• err
• flub
• fumble
• miscalculate
• mishandle
• misjudge
• mismanage
• muff
• screw up