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
Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
This week, law enforcement — including some of those same officers — converged at Veterans Park in Marysville, to honor the officer lost during that sprawling operation a year ago.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
From the air, Port-au-Prince is a dense sprawl of chaotic streets and dilapidated houses.
—Denise Schrier Cetta, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
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Verb
Yet according to confidential banking records and corporate documents reviewed by the Miami Herald, this unassuming address is one of several South Florida locations at the center of a sprawling financial network that moved at least $260 million connected to Argentina’s top soccer authority.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
This week, law enforcement — including some of those same officers — converged at Veterans Park in Marysville, to honor the officer lost during that sprawling operation a year ago.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
Kawakami’s novels are not unlike Theodore Dreiser’s in their realism, and at 429 pages, Sisters in Yellow is Dreiserian in its sprawl.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
From the air, Port-au-Prince is a dense sprawl of chaotic streets and dilapidated houses.
—Denise Schrier Cetta, CBS News, 15 Mar. 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 28 Mar. 2026.
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