Sprawl Definition
sprôl
sprawled, sprawling, sprawls
verb
sprawled, sprawling, sprawls
To cause to sprawl.
Webster's New World
To spread the limbs in a relaxed, awkward, or unnatural position.
Webster's New World
To sit or lie in such a position.
To sprawl in a chair.
Webster's New World
To spread out in a straggling or disordered fashion.
Untidy tenements sprawling toward the river.
American Heritage
To cause to spread out in a straggling or disordered fashion.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
noun
sprawls
A sprawling movement or position.
Webster's New World
A usually disorderly or haphazard mass, array, or extension.
A sprawl of outbuildings; urban sprawl.
American Heritage
The unchecked, uncoordinated spread of real-estate development into areas on the outskirts of a city, regarded as undesirable.
Webster's New World
The buildings and infrastructure resulting from this.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Origin of Sprawl
-
Middle English sprawlen from Old English sprēawlian to writhe sper- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Middle English spraulen, from Old English spreawlian. Compare North Frisian spraweli.
From Wiktionary
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