[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/sprawl/)

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# sprawl

verb (sprawl, sprawls, sprawled, sprawling); noun (sprawl; urban sprawl)

«sprawl» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To sprawl is to sit or lie with your arms and legs spread out in a relaxed or careless way. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#m1)
2. To sprawl can mean to fall so that you land spread out. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#m2)
3. A town or city that sprawls spreads out over a large area in an untidy way. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#m3)
4. Sprawl (urban sprawl) is the spreading of houses, shops and roads into the countryside around a city. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#m4)

### In the lessons

Everyday life: sprawling on the sofa, sending someone sprawling in football. Geography: urban sprawl around big cities like Los Angeles or Sydney means people need cars, and countryside is lost; planners try to control it with green belts (UK). Stories: «sprawled on the floor» can show someone exhausted or knocked down.

### Examples

- He sprawled on the sofa after football. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x1)
- The tackle sent her sprawling onto the grass. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x2)
- The city sprawls for miles. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x3)
- Urban sprawl is eating up farmland. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x4)
- The cat lay sprawled in the sun. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x5)
- A sprawling old house stood on the hill. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x6)
- Green belts stop sprawl around London. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x7)
- "Hallo, Woe! why are you always idly sprawling there?" [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/#x8)

### Note

Adjective «sprawling» = spreading widely. Noun «sprawl» is usually uncountable (urban sprawl). Do not confuse with «crawl» or «brawl» (a rough fight).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sprawl» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sprawl/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sprawl» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sprawl.html) on Mova free.