sprawl
Americanverb (used without object)
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sprawls,
present (3rd person singular)
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sprawled,
past participle, past
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sprawling
present participle
-
to be stretched or spread out in an unnatural or ungraceful manner.
The puppy's legs sprawled in all directions.
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to sit or lie in a relaxed position with the limbs spread out carelessly or ungracefully.
He sprawled across the bed.
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to spread out, extend, or be distributed in a straggling or irregular manner, as vines, buildings, handwriting, etc.
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to crawl awkwardly with the aid of all the limbs; scramble.
verb (used with object)
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sprawls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sprawled,
past participle, past
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sprawling
present participle
-
to stretch out (the limbs) as in sprawling.
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to spread out or distribute in a straggling manner.
noun
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sprawls
plural
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the act or an instance of sprawling; a sprawling posture.
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a straggling array of something.
verb
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(intr) to sit or lie in an ungainly manner with one's limbs spread out
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to fall down or knock down with the limbs spread out in an ungainly way
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to spread out or cause to spread out in a straggling fashion
his handwriting sprawled all over the paper
noun
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the act or an instance of sprawling
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a sprawling posture or arrangement of items
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-
the urban area formed by the expansion of a town or city into surrounding countryside
the urban sprawl
-
the process by which this has happened
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sprawlsimple
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sprawlssimple
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have sprawledperfect
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has sprawledperfect
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am sprawlingprogressive
-
are sprawlingprogressive
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is sprawlingprogressive
-
have been sprawlingperfect progressive
-
has been sprawlingperfect progressive
Past
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sprawledsimple
-
had sprawledperfect
-
was sprawlingprogressive
-
were sprawlingprogressive
-
had been sprawlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sprawl
before 1000; Middle English spraulen to move awkwardly, Old English spreawlian; cognate with Frisian (N dial.) spraweli
Explanation
When you sprawl, you spread out in an ungainly way, like when you're lying down comfortably on the sofa with your legs and arms flung out around you. As a noun, the most common use of this word nowadays is in the phrase "urban sprawl" (or "suburban sprawl"), which describes municipal development — things like new neighborhoods, shopping malls, and office complexes — that spreads out of control, according to no approved plan, and usually with pretty ugly results.
Vocabulary lists containing sprawl
The Diary of Anne Frank
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List 3
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The Cay
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Now about half a million acres are sitting dormant, and other abandoned groves have been absorbed for cattle grazing or Florida’s lucrative development sprawl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
When I first moved to Los Angeles in 2018 as an arts journalist, people tried to explain to me the appeal of this city’s sprawl, how it shaped the art that was made here.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
He used it here to give balance and focus to the home’s 110-foot-long facade, and to control its horizontal sprawl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
In Lima's suburb of San Juan de Lurigancho, dusty hilltop neighbourhoods sprawl precariously down the slopes.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
The church was a strange little white frame building stuck up on a hill behind the police station, built when the city was a country town instead of part of the metropolitan Washington sprawl.
From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson
But when you walk up on his roof, a scenic view of his home city sprawls beneath Todd.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
The city of Los Angeles sprawls across roughly 500 square miles, creating logistical hurdles if nothing else for a candidate seeking citywide office from a remote location, noted Democratic political consultant Mike Trujillo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
The megastore sprawls across 150,000 square feet—triple the size of a typical store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
The couple purchased their gorgeous five-bedroom home that sprawls across 6,383 square feet in Brentwood, Calif., for $9.5 million.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 30, 2025
Chapter Eleven sprawls on the carpet, wolfing candy.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Someone sprawled on the couch reading a book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Blue skies extended to the horizon, and a small colony of tents, camper vans and motorhomes sprawled out across the lush alfalfa fields.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
They spent hours sprawled on the deck, broiling under the daytime sun, then chilled at night, the fishermen said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
Behind the Peace River plant, sprawled out across a massive lawn, and behind a chain-link fence, were the ruins of a processing infrastructure.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
And I have to explain to her about everything: finding my girl, feeding my girl, and then finding her again, sprawled on the ground, half-dead, and I start crying again.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Long vertical windows opened onto a courtyard shaded by a sprawling olive tree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
The equestrian facility is topped off by a sprawling 20,000-square-foot riding arena with an observation deck and mirrored wall, which the listing notes is suitable for both dressage and jumping.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Dangote's sprawling refinery on the outskirts of Lagos, which began operating two years ago and now processes around 700,000 barrels of crude a day, has transformed the fortunes of Nigeria's oil sector.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Still, the 56-year-old thinks Okinawans have more important things to worry about than the sprawling U.S. military base right across the road.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“Sorry, Humphrey. I’m trying to hold still,” A.J. told me as someone bumped his elbow and sent me sprawling on the floor of my cage.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
