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
Karina Zaiets, USA Today, 19 June 2026
Not that Oswalt always has time to sprawl out with a novel.
—Rachel Brodsky, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
In certain soaring drone shots, the Gobi’s dry, greige sprawl looks like nothing so much as the surface of another planet, at least until it’s disrupted by snaking manmade infrastructure and drab light industry.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
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Verb
Today, the once sprawling forest is confined to a 1,000 acre reserve.
—Karina Zaiets, USA Today, 19 June 2026
Not that Oswalt always has time to sprawl out with a novel.
—Rachel Brodsky, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Noun
Even the most technology-savvy leaders are still pondering and probing where the ceiling is in terms of containing agent sprawl and complexity.
—Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
In certain soaring drone shots, the Gobi’s dry, greige sprawl looks like nothing so much as the surface of another planet, at least until it’s disrupted by snaking manmade infrastructure and drab light industry.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 June 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 23 Jun. 2026.
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