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
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
Glen Luke Flanagan, Fortune, 30 June 2025
Their programs and systems have been successfully implemented in places as diverse as North Carolina, York County, Pennsylvania, and Brazil; across jurisdictions ranging from small domestic violence organizations to sprawling emergency response networks.
—William Jones, USA Today, 30 June 2025
Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
Shrinking the 5,000-square-foot lot rule encourages smaller footprint homes that produce more affordable units, increase density, shorten commutes and reduce sprawl.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
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Verb
Some Nintendo products remained on the site, but they were listed by independent merchants who sell their goods on Amazon’s sprawling online marketplace.
—Glen Luke Flanagan, Fortune, 30 June 2025
Their programs and systems have been successfully implemented in places as diverse as North Carolina, York County, Pennsylvania, and Brazil; across jurisdictions ranging from small domestic violence organizations to sprawling emergency response networks.
—William Jones, USA Today, 30 June 2025
Noun
On top of that, their infrastructure sprawls across online retail, mobile apps, and the point-of-sale terminals, tills and tablets of bricks ‘n’ mortar, giving criminals lots of potential ways in.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
Shrinking the 5,000-square-foot lot rule encourages smaller footprint homes that produce more affordable units, increase density, shorten commutes and reduce sprawl.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
Cite this Entry
“Sprawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sprawl. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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