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Definition of "botch" [botch]

  • To ruin through clumsiness. (verb-transitive)
  • To make or perform clumsily; bungle. (verb-transitive)
  • To repair or mend clumsily. (verb-transitive)
  • A ruined or defective piece of work: "I have made a miserable botch of this description” ( Nathaniel Hawthorne). (noun)
  • A hodgepodge. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "botch" in a sentence
  • "The Arabic judham (De 28: 35), where "sore botch" is rather the black burning boil (Isa 1: 6)."
  • "In fact, it is a disgraceful idea, an appalling, short-term botch that would set a horrible precedent."
  • "POTUS Jr. began the speech well, just as Greg had drafted it, making sure to butcher a phrase and botch pronunciation for that proven populist posture."