sprawl
Americanverb (used without object)
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sprawls,
present (3rd person singular)
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sprawled,
past participle, past
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sprawling
present participle
-
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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sprawls,
present (3rd person singular)
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sprawled,
past participle, past
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sprawling
present participle
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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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sprawls
plural
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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
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is sprawlingprogressive
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have been sprawlingperfect progressive
-
has been sprawlingperfect progressive
Past
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sprawledsimple
-
had sprawledperfect
-
was sprawlingprogressive
-
were sprawlingprogressive
-
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:
At the same time, it has tried to encourage home building in urban centers; projects that would add to suburban sprawl require stricter environmental reviews.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Many Americans are souring on the technology amid mass layoffs, data center sprawl, reports of chatbot-fueled attacks by unstable users and hacking tools that have panicked cybersecurity professionals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
He used it here to give balance and focus to the home’s 110-foot-long facade, and to control its horizontal sprawl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Not that Oswalt always has time to sprawl out with a novel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
She accepted a job at the Northrop Corporation, one of many aviation companies tucked into the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Disability and sickness payments in the U.K. show how the system sprawls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
The property comes complete with two bedrooms and sprawls across 2,100 square feet.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
It sprawls across 10,010 square feet and is the epitome of luxury thanks to its lush greenery, which makes it the perfect place for a star to seek privacy.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 23, 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
Minchacaman was a powerful figure who could have taken In this rare aerial photograph—taken in 1931, before modern looting blasted the site—the ruined Chimor capital of Chan Chan sprawls across the northern Peruvian coast.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Meanwhile, at a sports hall in Las Rozas de Madrid just outside the capital, the displaced sprawled on camp beds, held their heads in their hands and comforted pets as they awaited news.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Before getting into the thick of their recent music catalog, Los Primos del Este quickly unfurled details of the album cover, which shows the group sprawled across the flatbed of a white truck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Blue skies extended to the horizon, and a small colony of tents, camper vans and motorhomes sprawled out across the lush alfalfa fields.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Size was also a theme of the event itself, which sprawled across two exhibition centers, including a monumental new complex designed by architect Zaha Hadid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Tano is sprawled on the sand below, in the middle of the mess.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Situated just below Griffith Park, the sprawling estate encompasses 4,026 square feet of living space and sits on more than an acre.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
San Diego County jumped into California’s sprawling ghost gun fight this week, suing a 3-D printing filament manufacturer it says hocks material for homespun firearms in violation of state law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
Country star Zach Bryan has reportedly forked over $18.25 million for a sprawling estate in Franklin, Tenn.—months after tying the knot with Samantha Leonard.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
Clashes broke out on Thursday in Soweto, a sprawling township outside Johannesburg, the country's largest city, and Durban, a major port on the east coast.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Near the temple we found a house set in the middle of a sprawling garden.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
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.
