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sprawl

Pronunciation: /sprɔːl/

Translate sprawl | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of sprawl

verb

[no object, with adverbial]
  • sit, lie, or fall with one’s arms and legs spread out in an ungainly way:the door shot open, sending him sprawling across the pavement she lay sprawled on the bed
  • spread out over a large area in an untidy or irregular way:the town sprawled along several miles of cliff top (as adjective sprawling)the sprawling suburbs

noun

[usually in singular]
  • an ungainly or carelessly relaxed position in which one’s arms and legs are spread out:she fell into a sort of luxurious sprawl
  • a group or mass of something that has spread out in an untidy or irregular way:a sprawl of buildings
  • [mass noun] the disorganized and unattractive expansion of an urban or industrial area into the adjoining countryside:the growth of urban sprawl

Derivatives

sprawlingly

adverb

Origin:

Old English spreawlian 'move the limbs convulsively'; related to Danish sprælle 'kick or splash about'. The noun dates from the early 18th century

sprawl in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of sprawl in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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