sprawl

[ sprawl ]

/ sprɔl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sprawl ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to be stretched or spread out in an unnatural or ungraceful manner: The puppy's legs sprawled in all directions.

to sit or lie in a relaxed position with the limbs spread out carelessly or ungracefully: He sprawled across the bed.

to spread out, extend, or be distributed in a straggling or irregular manner, as vines, buildings, handwriting, etc.

to crawl awkwardly with the aid of all the limbs; scramble.

verb (used with object)

to stretch out (the limbs) as in sprawling.

to spread out or distribute in a straggling manner.

noun

the act or an instance of sprawling; a sprawling posture.

a straggling array of something.

Nearby words

spraint, sprang, sprat, spratly islands, sprattle, sprawl, sprawly, spray, spray can, spray gun, spray millet

Origin of sprawl

before 1000; Middle English spraulen to move awkwardly, Old English spreawlian; cognate with Frisian (N dial.) spraweli

SYNONYMS FOR sprawl

3 straggle, branch.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sprawl ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

sprawl·er, nounsprawl·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sprawl

Obama and the Democrats have embraced the argument that suburbs and sprawl are bad for you.
The Progressives’ War on Suburbia|Joel Kotkin|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Auto factories tend to sprawl horizontally over huge lots, and have flat roofs.
Charging Up|The Daily Beast|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The goal, of course, is to facilitate ever more densification of urban areas and to rein in the dreaded suburban “sprawl.”
Are Millennials Turning Their Backs on the American Dream?|Joel Kotkin|November 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The word has also come to mean people who are too indolent and lazy to stand up or sit up, but sprawl out anywhere.
Jukes-Edwards|A. E. Winship

The violence of his debut caused him to sprawl forward on his hands and knees and his hat fell off.
The Boy Patrol Around the Council Fire|Edward Sylvester Ellis
"I masquerade as Sir Hubert Pine," retorted the millionaire, slipping off the stone to sprawl full-length on the grass.
Red Money|Fergus Hume
And now I come to think of it, he certainly did not allow Carlotta to sprawl about his own private and particular drawing-room.
The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne|William J. Locke
Hence Christian was left to sprawl in the Slough of Despond.
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress|Samuel Phillips Day

British Dictionary definitions for sprawl

sprawl

/ (sprɔːl) /

verb

(intr) to sit or lie in an ungainly manner with one's limbs spread out

to fall down or knock down with the limbs spread out in an ungainly way

to spread out or cause to spread out in a straggling fashionhis handwriting sprawled all over the paper

noun

the act or an instance of sprawling

a sprawling posture or arrangement of items

the urban area formed by the expansion of a town or city into surrounding countrysidethe urban sprawl
the process by which this has happened

Derived Forms

sprawler, nounsprawly, adjective

Word Origin for sprawl

Old English spreawlian; related to Old English spryttan to sprout, spurt, Greek speirein to scatter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012