sprawl

sprawl
I UK [sprɔːl] / US [sprɔl] verb [intransitive]
Word forms "sprawl":
present tense I/you/we/they sprawl he/she/it sprawls present participle sprawling past tense sprawled past participle sprawled
1) to sit or lie with your arms and legs stretched out in different directions in a relaxed or careless way

We sprawled in front of the fire and watched TV.

2)
a) to stretch over or across something in an ugly and untidy way
b) used about buildings that fill an area in an ugly way that has not been carefully planned

The suburbs sprawl across two hilltops.


II UK [sprɔːl] / US [sprɔl] noun
1) [singular/uncountable] a part of a town or city that starts to spread into the countryside in a way that is ugly and not carefully planned

urban sprawl

2) [singular] a way of sitting or lying in which you stretch your arms and legs out in different directions in a relaxed or careless way

English dictionary. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • sprawl´er — sprawl «sprl», verb, noun. –v.i. 1. to toss or spread the limbs about, like an infant or an animal lying on its back: »reading contentedly with his legs sprawled over the arm of the couch. 2. to lie or sit with the limbs spread out, especially… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Sprawl — can refer to:*Sprawl (grappling), a defensive technique in wrestling and martial arts *Urban sprawl, also called suburban sprawl *The Sprawl, the metropolitan region stretching from Boston to Atlanta in William Gibson s fiction …   Wikipedia

  • sprawl — (spr[add]l), n. The position or state resulting from sprawling; as, he sat on the couch in a sprawl; uncontrolled urban sprawl. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sprawl — (spr[add]l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sprawled} (spr[add]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Sprawling}.] [OE. spraulen; cf. Sw. sprattla to sprawl, dial. Sw. spralla, Dan. spr[ae]lle, spr[ae]lde, D. spartelen, spertelen, to flounder, to struggle.] 1. To spread… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sprawl — sprawl·er; sprawl·ing·ly; sprawl; …   English syllables

  • sprawl — [sprôl] vi. [ME spraulen < OE spreawlian, to move convulsively: see SPROUT] 1. a) to spread the limbs in a relaxed, awkward, or unnatural position b) to sit or lie in such a position [to sprawl in a chair] 2. to crawl in an awkward, ungainly… …   English World dictionary

  • sprawl|y — «SPR lee», adjective, sprawl|i|er, sprawl|i|est. of a sprawling character; straggly …   Useful english dictionary

  • sprawl — index expand, spread Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • sprawl — [v] sit or lie spread out drape, extend, flop, lie, lie spread eagle*, loll, lounge, ramble, recline, sit, slouch, slump, spread, straddle, straggle, stretch, trail; concept 201 Ant. straighten …   New thesaurus

  • sprawl — ► VERB 1) sit, lie, or fall with one s limbs spread out in an ungainly way. 2) (often as adj. sprawling) spread out irregularly over a large area. ► NOUN 1) a sprawling position or movement. 2) a sprawling group or mass, especially the… …   English terms dictionary

  • sprawl — [[t]sprɔ͟ːl[/t]] sprawls, sprawling, sprawled 1) VERB If you sprawl somewhere, you sit or lie down with your legs and arms spread out in a careless way. → See also sprawled [V prep/adv] She sprawled on the bed as he had left her, not even moving… …   English dictionary

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