Meaning & use
sprawl
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To sit, lie, or fall with the limbs spread out in a careless or awkward way, or to spread out irregularly over a wide area.
See it in a sentence
He sprawled across the couch after a long day at work.
The suburbs sprawl for miles beyond the city center.
A note on using this word
As a noun, 'urban sprawl' refers to the uncontrolled expansion of a city into surrounding undeveloped land.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. noun
Uncontrolled or irregular expansion, especially of urban development.
Critics blamed traffic congestion on decades of suburban sprawl.
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