intransitive verb
- to spread the limbs in a relaxed, awkward, or unnatural position
- to sit or lie in such a position: to sprawl in a chair
- to crawl in an awkward, ungainly way
- to spread out in an awkward or uneven way, esp. so as to take up more space than is necessary, as handwriting, a line of men, etc.
Origin:
ME spraulen < OE spreawlian, to move convulsively: see sprout