Phrase guide

botch up

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To ruin, mess up.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

make a mess of, destroy or ruin

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • I botched the dinner and we had to eat out
  • the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: botch, bodge, bumble, fumble, muff, blow, flub, screw up, ball up, spoil, muck up, bungle, fluff, bollix, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, bobble, mishandle, louse up, foul up, mess up, fuck up

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fail, go wrong, miscarry

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: toheloida — ruin, mess up
  • Finnish: tunaroida — ruin, mess up
  • Finnish: sössiä — ruin, mess up
  • French: bousiller — ruin, mess up
  • French: gâter — ruin, mess up
  • German: verpfuschen — ruin, mess up
  • German: verderben — ruin, mess up
  • Russian: по́ртить (pórtitʹ) — ruin, mess up
  • Russian: испо́ртить (ispórtitʹ) — ruin, mess up
  • Russian: попо́ртить (popórtitʹ) — ruin, mess up