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
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 May 2026
Cox, an early advocate for Taylor Sheridan and what would become the sprawling Yellowstone universe and former head of development and production at Paramount Network and TV Land, is currently president of MTV Entertainment.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 May 2026
This is agent sprawl, a pattern where every agent reinvents the wheel because there's no shared layer of reusable, composable skills.
—Ambika Saklani Bhardwaj, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
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Verb
The backstory South America’s largest city sprawls as far as the eye can see with towers and highways, which explains how this part of town (not the most central) has become a hub for meetings.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 May 2026
Cox, an early advocate for Taylor Sheridan and what would become the sprawling Yellowstone universe and former head of development and production at Paramount Network and TV Land, is currently president of MTV Entertainment.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026
Noun
These cities are building quickly on flood-prone land, financing infrastructure through debt mechanisms that future residents will inherit, and betting that car-dependent sprawl is a durable model for community life.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 May 2026
This is agent sprawl, a pattern where every agent reinvents the wheel because there's no shared layer of reusable, composable skills.
—Ambika Saklani Bhardwaj, Forbes.com, 15 May 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 17 May. 2026.
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