botch
/bɑt͡ʃ/verb, noun
botch is spelled B-O-T-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, botch means “To perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in botch?
| Letters | 5: B-O-T-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 59,387th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is botch?
Botch appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce botch?
- UK /bɒt͡ʃ/
- US /bɑt͡ʃ/
Botch has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-botch.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with botch?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as botch from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtʃ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of botch
- botches present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- botching participle, present
- botched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does botch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something.
A botched haircut seems to take forever to grow out.
- 2
To do (something) without care or skill, or clumsily.
- 3
To mend or repair (something) clumsily.
noun
- 1
An action, job, or task that has been performed very badly; a ruined, defective, or clumsy piece of work.
- 2
A patch put on, or a part of a garment patched or mended in a clumsy manner.
- 3
A mistake that is very stupid or embarrassing.
- 4
A messy, disorderly or confusing combination; a conglomeration; hodgepodge.
- 5
archaicOne who makes a mess of something.
- 6
obsoleteA tumour or other malignant swelling.
- 7
A case or outbreak of boils or sores.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Botch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | saccager, rater, bâcler , bidouillage |
| German | verderben, verpfuschen, vermasseln, vermurksen, vergeigen, verbocken |
| Portuguese | arruinar , gambiarra , atrapalhar-se |
| Spanish | chapuz, chapuza, chapucería, churro, chambonada, chanfla |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does botch come from?
From Middle English bocchen (“to mend”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Old English bōtettan (“to improve; cure; remedy; repair”), related to boot, or from Middle Dutch botsen, butsen, boetsen (“to repair; patch”), related to beat. Doublet of bodge.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).