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botch

(bŏch)

tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es

1. To perform poorly or ruin through clumsiness or ineptitude: botch a tennis shot; botch a rebellion.

2. To repair or mend clumsily or ineptly.

1. A ruined or defective piece of work: "I have made a miserable botch of this description" (Nathaniel Hawthorne).

2. A hodgepodge.

[Middle English bocchen, to mend.]

botcher n.

botchy adj.

Synonyms: botch, blow¹, bungle, butcher, fumble, muff¹
These verbs mean to harm or spoil through ineptitude or clumsiness: botch a repair; blow an opportunity; bungle an interview; butchered the haircut; fumbled my chance to apologize; muffed the last play of the game.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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