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
Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
Where Whole Lotta Red felt focused in its brazen, punk-imbued approach, Music sprawls with classic Atlanta rap, industrial synths, and electropop.
—Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 14 Mar. 2025
New Atlas, 1 Mar. 2025
Copilot sprawl has become so pronounced that consulting firms now offer services to manage this problem.
—Abhi Maheshwari, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sprawl
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Verb
The sequence started with a remarkable play by defenseman Seth Jones, who reached with his stick while sprawling to prevent the puck from crossing the blue line and leaving the Toronto zone.
—Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
Where Whole Lotta Red felt focused in its brazen, punk-imbued approach, Music sprawls with classic Atlanta rap, industrial synths, and electropop.
—Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
Also underway is a 3.9 square mile (10 sq km) floating structure, designed to minimize coastline sprawl and to utilize deep water technologies.
—New Atlas, 1 Mar. 2025
Copilot sprawl has become so pronounced that consulting firms now offer services to manage this problem.
—Abhi Maheshwari, Forbes, 28 Feb. 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 18 Mar. 2025.
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