'Sprawl' definitions:
Definition of 'sprawl'
(from WordNet)
noun
An aggregation or continuous network of urban communities [syn: conurbation, urban sprawl, sprawl]
noun
An ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about [syn: sprawl, sprawling]
verb
Sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
verb
Go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; "Branches straggling out quite far" [syn: sprawl, straggle]
Definition of 'Sprawl'
From: GCIDE
- Sprawl \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. spraelle, spraelde, D. spartelen, spertelen, to flounder, to struggle.]
- 1. To spread and stretch the body or limbs carelessly in a horizontal position; to lie with the limbs stretched out ungracefully. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To spread irregularly, as vines, plants, or trees; to spread ungracefully, as chirography. [1913 Webster]
- 3. To move, when lying down, with awkward extension and motions of the limbs; to scramble in creeping. [1913 Webster]
- The birds were not fledged; but upon sprawling and struggling to get clear of the flame, down they tumbled. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'sprawl'
From: GCIDE
- sprawl \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]
Synonyms of 'sprawl'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- accubation,
- accumbency,
- be lengthy,
- be prolonged,
- bed,
- bed down,
- belong,
- branch,
- branch out,
- capsize,
- careen,
- come a cropper,
- couch,
- crane,
- crawl,
- cropper,
- culbute,
- curl up,
- decumbency,
- deploy,
- disperse,
- dive,
- drape,
- expand,
- expansion,
- extend,
- extend out,
- extension,
- fall,
- fall down,
- fall flat,
- fall headlong,
- fall over,
- fall prostrate,
- fan,
- fan out,
- flare,
- flop,
- flounder,
- forced landing,
- get a cropper,
- go to bed,
- go to rest,
- grovel,
- header,
- lay,
- lie,
- lie around,
- lie down,
- lie flat,
- lie limply,
- lie prone,
- lie prostrate,
- list,
- loll,
- lounge,
- lounging,
- lurch,
- lying,
- meander,
- open,
- open up,
- outreach,
- outspread,
- outstretch,
- overgrow,
- overrun,
- pitch,
- plunge,
- pratfall,
- proneness,
- prostration,
- ramble,
- ramify,
- reach out,
- reclination,
- recline,
- reclining,
- recumbency,
- repose,
- rest,
- scramble,
- settle to rest,
- slouch,
- slump,
- snug down,
- spill,
- splay,
- spraddle,
- sprangle,
- spread,
- spread like wildfire,
- spread out,
- spread-eagle,
- stagger,
- stand on tiptoes,
- straddle,
- straggle,
- stretch,
- stretch out,
- stumble,
- supineness,
- take a fall,
- take a flop,
- take a header,
- take a pratfall,
- take a spill,
- take it easy,
- take life easy,
- tilt,
- topple,
- topple down,
- topple over,
- totter,
- trip,
- tumble,
- turn turtle,
- unfold,
- wander,
- widen