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
Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 3 July 2024
The camera panned out and featured a shot of a couple of dancers dressed up as a tiger sprawled about the cage, with Tyla freeing herself from the structure and prowling around the stage.
—Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 1 July 2024
Jessie Yeung, CNN, 29 June 2024
And unlike the compact classics Sachs is aping, his interweaving sprawl forces his tales into a sometimes awkward interdependency.
—Robert Rubsam, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for sprawl 
Verb
Named The Bluff, the sprawling 3.2-acre estate’s main residence is complemented by a spacious guest house overlooking the Salish Sea.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 3 July 2024
The camera panned out and featured a shot of a couple of dancers dressed up as a tiger sprawled about the cage, with Tyla freeing herself from the structure and prowling around the stage.
—Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 1 July 2024
Noun
But Dharavi had unique challenges due to the size of its population, the importance of its economy, and the value of the land — surrounded by affluent commercial districts in the heart of the city, close enough to the airport that arriving planes can see the sprawl of the slum from the air.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN, 29 June 2024
And unlike the compact classics Sachs is aping, his interweaving sprawl forces his tales into a sometimes awkward interdependency.
—Robert Rubsam, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for sprawl
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sprawl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sprawl
Cite this Entry
“Sprawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sprawl. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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