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
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
Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
The Turkestan Islamic Party is primarily comprised of Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking and largely Muslim ethnic group hailing predominantly from the sprawling northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang.
—Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2024
The agricultural landscape Today, approximately 2,200 urban gardens sprawl across the city of Detroit.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sprawl 
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Verb
Every year, the Kardashian-Jenners host an extravagant Christmas Eve bash equipped with over-the-top decorations and activities at one of their sprawling Southern California mansions.
—Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
The Turkestan Islamic Party is primarily comprised of Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking and largely Muslim ethnic group hailing predominantly from the sprawling northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang.
—Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024
Noun
In the weeks since Donald Trump won the election, Republican Washington has been fixated on a topic that is at once familiar (for conservatives) and unexpected (for Trump): the phenomenal sprawl of the federal government and the necessity to do something about it.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2024
The agricultural landscape Today, approximately 2,200 urban gardens sprawl across the city of Detroit.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sprawl
Dictionary Entries Near sprawl
Cite this Entry
“Sprawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sprawl. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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