sprawl

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled a-sprawlin

US /spɹɔl/ UK /spɹɔːl/ See IPA manual

Freq #41482

Meanings

1

verb
To sit or lie with your arms and legs spread out in a relaxed or careless way.

He sprawled across the sofa and fell asleep within minutes.
2

verb
To spread out over a wide area in an untidy, irregular way.

The city sprawls for miles along the coast.
3

noun
The untidy, uncontrolled spread of buildings on the edge of a city.

Urban sprawl has swallowed up most of the surrounding farmland.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to sit or lie with your... splay

2 verb · to spread out over a wide... straggle

3 noun · the untidy, uncontrolled... urban sprawlconurbation

Word family

Forms sprawledsprawlingsprawlssprawly

Derived forms antisprawlasprawlspraddlesprawlersprawlinesssprawlingsprawlingnesssprawly

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

urban sprawl
the spread of connected urban development over a wide area

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English spraulen, from Old English spreawlian (“move convulsively”), ultimately through a Proto-Germanic form cognate with *spreutaną (“to sprout”) from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”). Compare North Frisian spraweli, Norwegian sprala, Swedish sprala.

spraulen Middle English spreawlian Old English *sper- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# sprawl

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /spɹɔl/
**IPA (UK):** /spɹɔːl/
**Frequency rank:** 41482

## Meanings
1. To sit or lie with your arms and legs spread out in a relaxed or careless way.
2. To spread out over a wide area in an untidy, irregular way.
3. The untidy, uncontrolled spread of buildings on the edge of a city.

## Examples
- He sprawled across the sofa and fell asleep within minutes.
- The city sprawls for miles along the coast.
- Urban sprawl has swallowed up most of the surrounding farmland.

## Derived Forms
- antisprawl
- asprawl
- spraddle
- sprawler
- sprawliness
- sprawling
- sprawlingness
- sprawly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: spraulen
- Root: spreawlian
- Root: *sper-

## Etymology
From Middle English spraulen, from Old English spreawlian (“move convulsively”), ultimately through a Proto-Germanic form cognate with *spreutaną (“to sprout”) from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”). Compare North Frisian spraweli, Norwegian sprala, Swedish sprala.

## AI Etymology
Sprawl is from Middle English spraulen, from Old English spreawlian (“move convulsively”), ultimately through a Proto-Germanic form cognate with *spreutaną (“to sprout”) from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”). Compare North Frisian spraweli, Norwegian sprala, Swedish sprala. In present-day use, it can mean to sit or lie with your arms and legs spread out in a relaxed or careless way, or to spread out over a wide area in an untidy, irregular way. Derived formations include antisprawl, asprawl, spraddle, sprawler, and sprawliness.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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