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
Miami Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
Both are driven by a sprawling network of content creators, many of whom begin as independent developers with little technical knowledge, and their audiences skew young.
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Alex Abramovich, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
What followed World War II was a long slide toward suburban sprawl.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
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Verb
Griffin glanced around at the sprawling line behind her, which had blossomed into what Knaus employees estimated was a six-hour wait.
—Miami Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
Both are driven by a sprawling network of content creators, many of whom begin as independent developers with little technical knowledge, and their audiences skew young.
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Noun
Just outside the stadium, a sprawl of tents and booths called Homegrown Village went up.
—Alex Abramovich, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
What followed World War II was a long slide toward suburban sprawl.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 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 28 Dec. 2025.
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