sprawl

verb \ ˈsprȯl \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of sprawl

intransitive verb

1 a archaic : to lie thrashing or tossing about

b : to creep or clamber awkwardly

2 : to lie or sit with arms and legs spread out

3 : to spread or develop irregularly or without restraint

bushes sprawling along the road

sprawling suburbs

a sprawling narrative

transitive verb

: to cause to spread out carelessly or awkwardly

sprawled out her books on the table

See sprawl defined for English-language learners

See sprawl defined for kids

Examples of sprawl in a Sentence

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 of sprawl from the Web

In the 1970s, the company opened a sprawling campus in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., to train its workforce.

— jeffrey selingo, The Atlantic, "The Future of College Looks Like the Future of Retail," 16 Apr. 2018
The program on the sprawling campus will launch in the next two weeks and is being run by the nonprofit group Safe Parking L.A.

— dakota smith, latimes.com, "Safe parking program for homeless veterans is launching in West L.A.," 14 Apr. 2018
The document revealed the state’s challenge in policing a sprawling campus that houses residents, hosts programs for others veterans and opens its doors to community events.

— adam ashton, sacbee, "CHP report showed security gaps at Yountville Veterans Home before killings | The Sacramento Bee," 9 Apr. 2018
That expansion will create about 70 new jobs and almost triple production of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile seeker at Boeing's sprawling campus in Huntsville.

— paul gattis, AL.com, "Boeing expands missile interceptor program, creates 70 new jobs," 6 Apr. 2018
But former employees at the sprawling Rawlings Group campus in La Grange describe it as a white-collar sweat shop where everything – and everyone – is micromanaged.

— andrew wolfson, The Courier-Journal, "The Rawlings Way: The pay is good, but 'oppressive' working conditions aren't for everyone," 5 Apr. 2018
The facility is 12 miles south of San Francisco, and about 26 miles north of Google’s sprawling Googleplex campus in Mountain View.

— jamie ducharme, Fortune, "There Was a Mass Shooting at YouTube. Here's What to Know About YouTube Headquarters," 3 Apr. 2018
Tucked in between Highway 410 and West Side residential neighborhoods sits the sprawling campus of the Southwest Research Institute, a nonprofit research and development firm with more than $500 million in annual revenues.

— rye druzin, San Antonio Express-News, "Texas Power Broker Hamilton shooting for the stars at Southwest Research Institute," 2 Apr. 2018
Adjusting the cables has become a focus of why the 950-ton span suddenly fell just five days after it was put in place over Southwest Eighth Street near the sprawling campus.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "NTSB discloses new details about work performed before FIU bridge collapsed | Miami Herald," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sprawl.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sprawl

Middle English, from Old English sprēawlian

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

sprawl

noun

Definition of sprawl

1 : the act, posture, or condition of sprawling

2 : an irregularly spread or scattered group or mass

3 : urban sprawl

See sprawl defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of sprawl from the Web

This is why community is important, especially in Southern California, with its distances and its sprawl.

— david ulin, Los Angeles Magazine, "How Small, Scrappy Local Book Presses Have Turned L.A. Into a Publishing Town," 16 Apr. 2018
Sacramento environmentalists, for their part, oppose adding new lanes to freeway lanes, saying even carpool lanes will encourage more suburban sprawl and more traffic and pollution.

— tony bizjak, sacbee, "I-5 is ‘falling apart,’ and a massive fix is coming. Drivers, buckle up. | The Sacramento Bee," 12 Apr. 2018
Today, its sprawl of factories house a juvenile detention center, a large food bank and the county’s largest homeless shelter, which has been filled beyond capacity this winter.

— john schmid, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Foxconn's promised jobs boom could miss neighboring city Racine," 6 Apr. 2018
All 1,200 beds at the county’s homeless shelters are full. Homeless camps beneath Highway 101 overpasses mushroomed into huge sprawls shortly after the fires.

— San Francisco Chronicle, "Susan Gorin aches to fast-forward to well past next year — when she once again has a home on what is now an ashy lot.," 5 Apr. 2018
Many things share the blame for this lack of retail, including redlining by banks and other lenders, population loss, suburban sprawl and the rise of malls in the suburbs.

— john gallagher, Detroit Free Press, "Detroiters deserve more retail in their neighborhoods; new study backs an old idea," 6 Feb. 2018
About half the pollution in the watershed, also referred to as the Delaware River Basin, is due to runoff from building sprawl, agricultural pesticides, and the reduction of forests and wetlands that act as buffers or filters.

— frank kummer, Philly.com, "William Penn Foundation gives $42M to protect Delaware River, bringing total to $100M," 4 Apr. 2018
For more information, email LyAnn Graff or call 860-774-3300. The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor is the last stretch of dark night sky in the coastal sprawl between Boston and Washington, D.C.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Putnam Edition," 3 Apr. 2018
The most desirable neighborhoods in most cities and suburbs are the walkable ones, with less sprawl and good trains.

— christopher bonanos, Daily Intelligencer, "What New York Should Learn From the Park Slope Crash That Killed Two Children," 30 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of sprawl

1598

SPRAWL Defined for English Language Learners

sprawl

verb

Definition of sprawl for English Language Learners

: to lie or sit with your arms and legs spread wide apart
: to spread or develop in an uneven or uncontrolled way

sprawl

noun

Definition of sprawl for English Language Learners

: a group of things (such as buildings) that cover an area in an uneven and ugly way

SPRAWL Defined for Kids

sprawl

verb \ ˈsprȯl \

Definition of sprawl for Students

sprawled; sprawling

1 : to lie or sit with arms and legs spread out

2 : to spread out unevenly

The city of Madison sprawls between two lakes …
—Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons

sprawl

noun

Definition of sprawl for Students

: the act or posture of spreading out

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See words that rhyme with sprawl Spanish Central: Translation of sprawl Nglish: Translation of sprawl for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sprawl for Arabic speakers

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sprawl

Definition of sprawl

Examples of sprawl in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of sprawl

sprawl

Definition of sprawl

Recent Examples of sprawl from the Web

First Known Use of sprawl

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SPRAWL Defined for English Language Learners

sprawl

Definition of sprawl for English Language Learners

sprawl

Definition of sprawl for English Language Learners

SPRAWL Defined for Kids

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Definition of sprawl for Students

sprawl

Definition of sprawl for Students

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