as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
the first time we tried to make a cake, we botched the job completely
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of botching
The episode ends with Hegseth botching the Peter Thiel extraction and ending up in jail himself right alongside Thiel.
—
Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2025
But Team Blue ultimately squanders their lead, completely botching the puzzle as the other two tribes smoke theirs.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 1 Oct. 2025
Third-round running back Kaleb Johnson has had the worst rookie moment of the season so far, botching a Week 2 kickoff return that became a Seattle touchdown.
—Josh Kendall, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Even as his team keeps messing up, botching substitutions and committing untimely errors, Mike McDaniel generally keeps his calm.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
The look was a polarizing one, to which Alcaraz blamed one of his brothers for botching the assignment.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
So, instead of botching basic clock management over and over again as Jerod Mayo did last year, when the Pats finished 3-6 in one-score games, expect those situations and records to flip.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for botching
Verb
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The image of Gobert fumbling with the ball and having his shot attempt rim out has been a lasting one.—
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Georgia Tech also went 3 of 6, fumbling at the BYU 11-yard line in the third quarter and having a 35-yard field goal by Aidan Birr blocked late in the quarter.—
Verb
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Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
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Somehow, this new sensation emitted an awareness of the magnitude in which skateboarding would warp my life, which only ratcheted up the anxiety of blowing it.—
Verb
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And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.—
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The video then shows the man asking if the situation was ruining Kaleel's Christmas.—
Cite this Entry
“Botching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/botching. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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