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.

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 ripples of the botched Watergate operation spoke to all of those arrogant enough to think they might be able to do it better.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

Here again, a botched execution played a key role in bringing about this change.

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026

The Los Angeles County Fire Department oversaw the response of the Eaton fire, and it has come under intense scrutiny over the botched alerts and limited firefighting resources on the west side of town.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

There is talk of a botched investigation, suggestions that a change in personnel may be required.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023