sprawled; sprawling; sprawls
1
: to lie or sit with arms and legs spread out
2
: to spread or develop irregularly or without restraint
bushes sprawling along the road
sprawling suburbs
a sprawling narrative
3
a
: to creep or clamber awkwardly
b
archaic
: to lie thrashing or tossing about
: to cause to spread out carelessly or awkwardly
sprawled out her books on the table
1
: an irregularly spread or scattered group or mass
a sprawl of stores and restaurants
2
3
: the act, posture, or condition of sprawling
Examples of sprawl in a Sentence
Verb
The kids sprawled on the floor to watch TV.
She tripped and went sprawling into the table.
The city sprawls along the coastline.
The bushes were sprawling along the road.
Recent Examples on the Web
Arkansas Online, 26 Feb. 2026
Accommodations range from Garden, Pool, and Ocean View suites to sprawling one- to three-bedroom residences and a handful of penthouses.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2026
Tokyo Fashion Week has a sprawl problem.
—Ashley Ogawa Clarke, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
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Verb
Among those who have resigned during a period of tension in the office over the Justice Department's response to the shootings is Joseph Thompson, the prosecutor who had been leading the sprawling Minnesota fraud probe.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Feb. 2026
Accommodations range from Garden, Pool, and Ocean View suites to sprawling one- to three-bedroom residences and a handful of penthouses.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026
Noun
From the living rooms, views sweep across Tokyo Bay to the east and out over the city's sprawl to the south and west, with Tokyo Tower front and center and, on a clear day, Mount Fuji in the distance.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2026
Tokyo Fashion Week has a sprawl problem.
—Ashley Ogawa Clarke, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
Cite this Entry
“Sprawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sprawl. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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