botch

Bard would whisper funny lines into my earpiece and I would botch them.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

He’ll botch a gig over his annoyance at not being allowed to call a stranger by a pet name she reserves for her closest friend.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024

It was a stunning botch job from a ruthless finisher.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2023

The botch required the rescoring of 300,000 exams, scholastic victims of the knotty coin rotation paradox.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 20, 2023

“We all bite off too much sooner or later. But some students don’t know when to spit their mouthful. They burn out. They quit, or botch their exams. Some crack.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

The infinite variables in sports can quickly make many of the bets they are holding nearly worthless, whether it is because a player is severely injured or a team botches a crucial touchdown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

In China, Xinhua news agency's website ran an article with the headline: "British Navy botches test: Missile crashes into the sea with a 'thud', nuclear submarine hovering underwater".

From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2024

I’d rather cheer for a kooky blockbuster that’s all fiascos, like the midpoint Monty Python-esque sequence where the crew botches the resurrection and interrogation of craggy old corpses.

From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2023

That may make it easier to get correct answers, but also can make the stakes higher if the AI goofs and makes a user uncomfortable or botches financial data.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023

An' how ye gat him i' your thrall, Au' brak him out o' house an' hall, While scabs an' botches did him gall,                Wi' bitter claw, And lows'd his ill-tongu'd, wicked scawl,                Was warst ava?

From The Humorous Poetry of the English Language; from Chaucer to Saxe by James Parton

"They've botched every single part of this trial."

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Bureau staffers caught problems mid-transfer, from inaccurate due dates to botched repayment schedules, and directed the companies to fix them.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

“We’re here about a botched rollout of unparalleled proportions,” Randy Mastro, a lawyer representing the homeowners, said in court Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Their first offensive play from scrimmage was a botched snap landing quarterback Koa Malau’ulu on the three-yard line.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

It had endangered his friends and botched their quest.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

To its many critics, the Ministry of Defence failed to spend well what money it got, botching procurement after procurement, delivering new equipment late and over budget.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Governments in developing economies are botching the job far too often, but not because industrial policy itself is the wrong choice,” wrote Gill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

Legal experts were stunned at what they said was the prosecution’s botching of the case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2024

And once you do, how do you avoid botching up the installation?

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2024

A number of his colleagues quietly waited for the day when he would fall flat on his face by botching something important.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson