sprawl
Americanverb (used without object)
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to be stretched or spread out in an unnatural or ungraceful manner.
The puppy's legs sprawled in all directions.
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to sit or lie in a relaxed position with the limbs spread out carelessly or ungracefully.
He sprawled across the bed.
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to spread out, extend, or be distributed in a straggling or irregular manner, as vines, buildings, handwriting, etc.
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to crawl awkwardly with the aid of all the limbs; scramble.
verb (used with object)
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to stretch out (the limbs) as in sprawling.
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to spread out or distribute in a straggling manner.
noun
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the act or an instance of sprawling; a sprawling posture.
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a straggling array of something.
verb
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(intr) to sit or lie in an ungainly manner with one's limbs spread out
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to fall down or knock down with the limbs spread out in an ungainly way
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to spread out or cause to spread out in a straggling fashion
his handwriting sprawled all over the paper
noun
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the act or an instance of sprawling
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a sprawling posture or arrangement of items
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the urban area formed by the expansion of a town or city into surrounding countryside
the urban sprawl
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the process by which this has happened
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sprawlsimple
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sprawlssimple
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have sprawledperfect
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has sprawledperfect
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am sprawlingprogressive
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are sprawlingprogressive
-
is sprawlingprogressive
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have been sprawlingperfect progressive
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has been sprawlingperfect progressive
Past
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sprawledsimple
-
had sprawledperfect
-
was sprawlingprogressive
-
were sprawlingprogressive
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had been sprawlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sprawl
before 1000; Middle English spraulen to move awkwardly, Old English spreawlian; cognate with Frisian (N dial.) spraweli
Explanation
When you sprawl, you spread out in an ungainly way, like when you're lying down comfortably on the sofa with your legs and arms flung out around you. As a noun, the most common use of this word nowadays is in the phrase "urban sprawl" (or "suburban sprawl"), which describes municipal development — things like new neighborhoods, shopping malls, and office complexes — that spreads out of control, according to no approved plan, and usually with pretty ugly results.
Vocabulary lists containing sprawl
The Diary of Anne Frank
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List 3
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The Cay
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Activists across the U.S. are coalescing around concerns about AI-related job losses, data-center sprawl and AI-fueled cyberattacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
In Lima's suburb of San Juan de Lurigancho, dusty hilltop neighbourhoods sprawl precariously down the slopes.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
As a place that came of age with the automobile, Los Angeles is a sprawl of freeways with a public transport system that would embarrass any medium-sized European city.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
The city sprawl quickly gave way to stone-walled fields full of dazzling yellow rape and spring-green grass dotted with sheep and frolicking lambs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
I stared out the window, watching as the suburban sprawl surrounding Birmingham faded into the slow-sloping hills and fields of northern Alabama.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
But when you walk up on his roof, a scenic view of his home city sprawls beneath Todd.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
The city of Los Angeles sprawls across roughly 500 square miles, creating logistical hurdles if nothing else for a candidate seeking citywide office from a remote location, noted Democratic political consultant Mike Trujillo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
The megastore sprawls across 150,000 square feet—triple the size of a typical store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
The stunning property boasts four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and sprawls across 2,252 square feet.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 24, 2025
She sprawls out on her fuzzy lime-green area rug beside her bed and shoves the navy throw cushion that says “Relax” in giant lime-green letters under her head.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Someone sprawled on the couch reading a book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Behind the Peace River plant, sprawled out across a massive lawn, and behind a chain-link fence, were the ruins of a processing infrastructure.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
In last-seen footage of Neukgu posted by Daejeon authorities, the young wolf is seen sprawled on a bed of leaves in the forest before getting up to pace around.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the top Republican candidates running for California governor, met a woman sprawled on the sidewalk as he walked around Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2026
A short yelp and hard thud later, he was sprawled in the floor, his castmates rushing forward to coddle him, leaving Old Petey and Young Petey alone to talk.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
The three episodes track the stories of a teenage boy, a successful businesswoman and a soldier in the nearby town of Herculaneum, with a sprawling cast and special effects bringing those scenes to life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The combined company -- which came about after Netflix bowed out of the battle to buy Warner Brothers -- would control a sprawling roster of assets, including CNN, Warner Bros.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Short-only funds like hers had been falling out of vogue, with investors instead preferring long-short funds or the fast-growing multi-managers that run sprawling portfolios and tightly manage risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
A onetime California oil boomtown about 60 miles southwest of Fresno, Avenal has spent decades off the beaten track, known more for its pistachios and sprawling state prison than for political upheaval.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
On the last circle the beast caught him a glancing blow with one of its back hoofs and sent him sprawling.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
