SPRAWL


Meaning of SPRAWL in English

I. ˈsprȯl verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English sprewlen, sprawlen, from Old English sprēawlian; probably akin to Old English sprūtan to sprout — more at sprout

intransitive verb

1.

a. archaic : to lie (as on the ground) thrashing or tossing about : struggle convulsively

b. : to creep or clamber with awkward movements of the arms and legs : scramble

the car slowly fell on its side and two figures sprawled out — Irwin Shaw

2. : to lie or sit with arms and legs stretched out carelessly or awkwardly : spread out

could sprawl on her back in the little patch of grass — Elizabeth Janeway

a child … sprawls across her knees — Laurence Binyon

the headmaster … was sprawled out in an easy chair — Grace Metalious

3. : to spread or develop irregularly or ungracefully : straggle

bushes are … allowed to sprawl as they will — Fletcher Steele

the city sprawls without apparent logic or plan to the west, north, and south — American Guide Series: Rhode Island

this novel undeniably sprawls — Sean O'Faolain

transitive verb

1. : to stretch out (the arms or legs) carelessly or awkwardly

took a chair, sprawled out his legs — Erle Stanley Gardner

2. : to cause to spread or develop irregularly or stragglingly : cause to move erratically : scrawl

sprawls its … winding river across the state line — American Guide Series: Texas

languidly sprawled his signature over the document at her urging

II. noun

( -s )

1. : the act, posture, or condition of sprawling

sent him down in a long sprawl — Vincent McHugh

toppled backward to a sprawl on the pavement — Scott Fitzgerald

2. : an irregularly spread or scattered group or mass : a straggling array

a bare and shadeless sprawl of adobe barracks — Harvey Fergusson

the increasing sprawl of the curriculum — E.L.Vance

the rich sprawl of her hair — William Faulkner

3. dialect : resolute spirit : spunk , gumption

chaps as hadn't the sprawl to go a-soldiering — Flora Thompson

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.