sprawl
Americanverb (used without object)
-
sprawls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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)
-
sprawled,
past participle, past
-
sprawling
present participle
-
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.
-
a straggling array of something.
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
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to spread out or cause to spread out in a straggling fashion
his 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 countryside
the urban sprawl
-
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
-
sprawlssimple
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have sprawledperfect
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has sprawledperfect
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am sprawlingprogressive
-
are sprawlingprogressive
-
is sprawlingprogressive
-
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:
“We really honed in on the data sprawl problem. The lack of visibility to data that the enterprise has, and all the problems that that created.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The more agents a company puts into production, the greater the danger of what BCG calls agent sprawl, with duplicate agents, conflicting permissions and unclear ownership among other issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Within its sprawl, each adumbrated alley and plate-glass storefront could hold an entire world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
But beneath the sprawl, the movie is essentially a two-man character study.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
As I hear him go down the stairs, I sprawl on my bed.
From "Finding Langston" by Lesa Cline-Ransome
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
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
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
A burst chandelier sprawls across the entry stairs.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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
Someone sprawled on the couch reading a book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 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
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
He pointed at me sprawled out on Washington Street and doubled over laughing, slapping his knee like I was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Many of the 100 items selected from the 90,000 housed in the David Bowie Centre, which was built to contain the sprawling archive, have never been seen in public.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
De La Cruz’s campaign office is a former restaurant space on a state highway in Weslaco, a sprawling town just east of McAllen.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
Maybe it’s a lavish condo with a sprawling balcony you always notice on your way to work, but is way out of your budget.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Here’s how to make the most out of the sprawling Hill Country, which even as it is changing still feels like a hidden gem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The water was only ankle-deep now, and the mist cleared a bit to reveal glimpses of a sprawling forest of moss-covered trees.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
