sprawl

1 of 2

verb

ˈsprȯl

sprawled; sprawling; sprawls

Synonyms of sprawl next

intransitive verb

: to lie or sit with arms and legs spread out

: to spread or develop irregularly or without restraint

bushes sprawling along the road

sprawling suburbs

a sprawling narrative

: to creep or clamber awkwardly

archaic : to lie thrashing or tossing about

transitive verb

: to cause to spread out carelessly or awkwardly

sprawled out her books on the table

sprawl

2 of 2

noun

: an irregularly spread or scattered group or mass

: urban sprawl

: the act, posture, or condition of sprawling

Example Sentences

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

Verb

The Adirondacks The Adirondacks have old money roots that go back to the Gilded Age, when Carnegies, Morgans, Astors, and Vanderbilts built extravagant timbered summer retreats (known as Great Camps) along the sprawling region's lakeshores. —

Leena Kim, Town & Country, 29 May 2023 Jurors were shown images of her body sprawled out on the floor in a doorway. —

Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 25 May 2023 Rosewood Bermuda is set on a sprawling, private stretch of pink-sand beach, the perfect spot to be marooned for a long weekend. —

Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2023 In 1846, construction began on a sprawling brick fortress, Fort Jefferson, that remains today as the national park’s landmark attraction. —

Daniel Wu, Anchorage Daily News, 10 May 2023 Thomas Peters of Pacific Palisades also was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for his role in the sprawling corruption case involving the DWP and the city attorney’s office. —

Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2023 Editor’s picks Lawyer and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani says that the sluggish jury selection is also a result of the sprawling nature of the case, with 10 defendants being tried simultaneously. —

Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 8 May 2023 The sprawling royal residence is located in London's Kensington neighborhood, and is home to many royal family members including the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent (the Duke of Kent's brother and his wife). —

Quinci Legardye, Harper's BAZAAR, 6 May 2023 Today, home is that tired apartment in a sprawling neighborhood near the city’s eastern border. —

Andrew Brinker, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023

Noun

The litigation argues that the city failed to analyze the new policy’s potential environmental impacts, and that the rule update will encourage sprawl and damage neighborhoods. —

David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2023 Besides, suburban sprawl being particularly pronounced in the U.S. leads American workers to have some of the longest commute times in the world. —

Remy Raisner, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2023 Their constant presence has made New York the graphing capital of the United States, topping even Los Angeles, whose sprawl, closed sets and tight security make life more challenging for graphers. —

Drew Schwartz, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2023 But conditions improve from that point, even with the unchecked sprawl. —

Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2023 Then there’s the prevalence of unsafe speeding, which Norton also tied to urban and suburban sprawl. —

Ryan Fonsecastaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2023 This can include jumps with weighted balls, sprawls, and Turkish get-ups. —

Women's Health, 21 Feb. 2023 To begin giving form to the nascent sprawl of the undersea wine industry, Crusoe Treasure hosted the first underwater wine congress in 2019, which pulled about 50 attendants. —

Popular Mechanics, 8 Feb. 2023 Can it be saved from Louisville sprawl? —

Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 20 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sprawl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.