SPRAWL

sprawl, sprawling

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

conurbation, urban sprawl, sprawl

(noun) an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities

sprawl

(verb) sit or lie with one’s limbs spread out

sprawl, straggle

(verb) go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; “Branches straggling out quite far”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

sprawl (third-person singular simple present sprawls, present participle sprawling, simple past and past participle sprawled)

To sit with the limbs spread out.

To spread out in a disorderly fashion; to straggle.

Noun

sprawl (countable and uncountable, plural sprawls)

An ungainly sprawling posture.

A straggling, haphazard growth, especially of housing on the edge of a city.

Source: Wiktionary


Sprawl (sprall), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sprawled (spralld); p. pr. & vb. n. Sprawling.] Etym: [OE. spraulen; cf. Sw. sprattla to sprawl, dial. Sw. spralla, Dan. spælle, sprælde, 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.

2. To spread irregularly, as vines, plants, or tress; to spread ungracefully, as chirography.

3. To move, when lying down, with awkward extension and motions of the limbs; to scramble in creeping. The birds were not fledged; but upon sprawling and struggling to get clear of the flame, down they tumbled. L'Estrange.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET



Word of the Day

3 April 2025

WHOLE

(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”


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Coffee Trivia

Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. Studies from the National Institute of Health (US) have shown that virtually all decaf coffee types contain caffeine. A 236-ml (8-oz) cup of decaf coffee contains up to 7 mg of caffeine, whereas a regular cup provided 70-140 mg.

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