SPRAWL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sprawl mean? 

• SPRAWL (noun)
  The noun SPRAWL has 2 senses:

1. an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities

2. an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about

  Familiarity information: SPRAWL used as a noun is rare.

• SPRAWL (verb)
  The verb SPRAWL has 2 senses:

1. sit or lie with one's limbs spread out

2. go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way

  Familiarity information: SPRAWL used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPRAWL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An aggregation or continuous network of urban communities

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

conurbation; sprawl; urban sprawl

Hypernyms ("sprawl" is a kind of...):

populated area; urban area (a geographical area constituting a city or town)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sprawl"):

subtopia (monotonous urban sprawl of standardized buildings)

Instance hyponyms:

Luda; Luta (an industrial conurbation in northeastern China on the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula; it now includes the cities of Dalian and Lushun)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

sprawl; sprawling

Hypernyms ("sprawl" is a kind of...):

attitude; position; posture (the arrangement of the body and its limbs)

Derivation:

sprawl (sit or lie with one's limbs spread out)

sprawly (extended out irregularly)

• SPRAWL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they sprawl    ... he / she / it sprawls   
Past simple: sprawled   
Past participle: sprawled   
-ing form: sprawling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sit or lie with one's limbs spread out

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "sprawl" is one way to...):

sit; sit down (be seated)

lie (be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sprawl"):

spread-eagle (stand with arms and legs spread out)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

The children sprawl in the rocking chair
There sprawl some children in the rocking chair

Derivation:

sprawl (an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about)

sprawler (a person who sprawls)

sprawling (an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

sprawl; straggle

Context example:

Branches straggling out quite far

Hypernyms (to "sprawl" is one way to...):

distribute; spread (distribute or disperse widely)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

 Context examples 

Sprawling black zones on the map represent areas where a landing spacecraft would sink into fine dust.

(NASA's Treasure Map for Water Ice on Mars, NASA)

Before he could strike again, however, I got in my right and he was sprawling on his back on the floor.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The master with his toe helped one sprawling puppy toward him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Later in the afternoon they strayed off among the trees, where, in the good old fashion, she sat down while he sprawled on his back, his head in her lap.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Lord John's rifle cracked, and the king sank down, a tangled red sprawling thing, upon the ground.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“And a little one from Brockenhurst!” shouted a huge-limbed fellow who sprawled beneath a tree.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has discovered a faint but sprawling glow of high-energy light around a nearby pulsar.

(NASA’s Fermi Mission Links Nearby Pulsar’s Gamma-ray ‘Halo’ to Antimatter Puzzle, NASA)

The sprawling patch of detritus, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, contains nearly 80,000 tons of plastic, a study released Thursday found.

(Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch Growing Rapidly, Study Finds, VOA)

Leach was the last to go, falling sheer back from the top of the scuttle and striking on head and shoulders upon his sprawling mates beneath.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Stephen Houston, professor of archaeology and anthropology at Brown University, told the BBC that the revelation of the sprawling Central American civilization was "breathtaking."

(Hidden Mayan Civilization Revealed in Guatemala Jungle, VOA)