botch

/bɒt͡ʃ/

//bɒt͡ʃ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"botch" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“botch” is uncommon English (frequency #59,242 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,242
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-botch · botch · English

botch · rank #59,242 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,242
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH boogaloo

Nearest frequency peer: boogaloo (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “botch”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “botch” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for botch
PropertyValue
Headwordbotch
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɒt͡ʃ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#59,242
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “botch” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).botchfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “boogaloo” (#59,241), “bowtie” (#59,243), “boyband” (#59,244). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “botch” is #59,242. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

botch is uncommon English at frequency #59,242 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /bɒt͡ʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for botch, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is botch, spelled B-O-T-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something.
  2. 2
    To do (something) without care or skill, or clumsily.
  3. 3
    To mend or repair (something) clumsily.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how botch appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A botched haircut seems to take forever to grow out.
  2. And other diuels that ſuggest by treaſons, / Do botch and bungle vp damnation, / VVith patches, colours, and vvith formes being fetcht / From gliſt'ring ſemblances of piety: […]

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

chambonear(Español)saccager(Français)verderben(Deutsch)arruinar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "botch"?
"botch" is spelled B-O-T-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /bɒt͡ʃ/.
What does "botch" mean?
As a verb, "botch" means: To perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something.
How do you pronounce "botch"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "botch" is /bɒt͡ʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "botch"?
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 ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "botch", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bugsy#59,252chafe#59,270clued#59,277coots#59,297

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list