1
as in extending
to extend outwards from or as if from a central point
The suburbs sprawl for miles beyond the city's downtown.
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2
as in sitting
to rest with the arms and legs spread out
There's no feeling like sprawling out on your bed after a hard day's work.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sprawling
And if solitude is your jam, Cheung Sha Beach's sprawling sands whisper your name.
—
Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Feb. 2026
Look for healthy stems and trunks that grow upright rather than sprawling.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2026
Gold chrome vines creep across the nail bed, hinting at a sprawling lawn with immaculately cared-for rose bushes.
—Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
Under a sprawling white tent on Miami Beach, thousands of food lovers gathered Saturday to eat, drink and celebrate in style.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2026
But given the sprawling field of gubernatorial candidates, the lack of a clear front-runner and the state’s unique primary system, the race appears up for grabs.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Several staircases connect the home’s sprawling layout.
—Brendel Clark, Freep.com, 21 Feb. 2026
The Virgil Abloh Archive is a sprawling private collection of more than 20,000 objects from the late designer’s career.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 21 Feb. 2026
Fort Bliss, a sprawling military base in the desert in El Paso, Texas, where Japanese and Japanese American people, Italians and Germans were held during WWII, has been repurposed for the immigration crackdown.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Feb. 2026
Look for healthy stems and trunks that grow upright rather than sprawling.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2026
Gold chrome vines creep across the nail bed, hinting at a sprawling lawn with immaculately cared-for rose bushes.
—Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
Under a sprawling white tent on Miami Beach, thousands of food lovers gathered Saturday to eat, drink and celebrate in style.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2026
But given the sprawling field of gubernatorial candidates, the lack of a clear front-runner and the state’s unique primary system, the race appears up for grabs.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Several staircases connect the home’s sprawling layout.
—Brendel Clark, Freep.com, 21 Feb. 2026
The Virgil Abloh Archive is a sprawling private collection of more than 20,000 objects from the late designer’s career.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 21 Feb. 2026
Fort Bliss, a sprawling military base in the desert in El Paso, Texas, where Japanese and Japanese American people, Italians and Germans were held during WWII, has been repurposed for the immigration crackdown.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprawling
Verb
-
Netherlands’ Xandra Velzeboer won the short track 1,000 meters on Monday, claiming her second gold at the Winter Games and extending Dutch dominance of the competition.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Wood and Orr said the appeal for MAC presidents was extending the conference’s reach into California, the nation’s most populous state.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Traditionally, some sitting justices of the Supreme Court attend the speech in a show of national unity between co-equal branches of government.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
-
It's considered uncommon for a sitting president to receive such memorials, especially those bestowed by their own administration.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Both countries are diverging on trade, too.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The visit underscored diverging narratives about the rebuilding process in Los Angeles.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The ponytails were flopping and the eyelashes were flapping at West Orange High on Saturday afternoon, but don’t think the girls participating in the first-ever Orlando All-American Exposure Camp weren’t just as intense as the boys from the morning session.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
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Waterfield's extra point was deflected, flopping low toward the uprights.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The galaxies will dissociate and disappear, leaving only isolated masses expanding away from one another, with no energy left to extract.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The hotel recently joined Wyndham Hotels and Resorts as part of the Trademark Collection, expanding its global reach while maintaining its independent spirit.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
For more than six decades the Reverend Jesse Jackson stood as a towering figure, straddling the racial justice movement in America and mainstream party politics, bridging the civil rights struggle of the 1960s with the dramatically more confrontational Black Lives Matter campaign.—
Jimmie Briggs,
Vanity Fair,
17 Feb. 2026
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After straddling a gate in Run 2 of the slalom in Bormio, an emotional Atle Lie McGrath of Norway chucked his ski poles and laid down in the snow after storming off the Stelvio course.—
Isabel Yip,
NBC news,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Air isn't as efficient as water or steam for storing and radiating heat.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Paved surfaces get hotter than those with plantings, absorbing and radiating out the sun’s energy rather than converting it into plant growth, which in turn creates shade.—
Meg Tanaka,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Vonn disclosed the injury a day after posting a video of herself squatting with a barbell in the gym.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
7 Feb. 2026
-
The man filming later walks into the parking lot, where body after body has been laid out on the asphalt with family members either standing or squatting nearby.—
Marin Scott,
NBC news,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sprawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sprawling. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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