Sprawls

sprawl  (sprôl)

v. sprawled, sprawl·ing, sprawls

v.intr.

1. To sit or lie with the body and limbs spread out awkwardly.

2. To spread out in a straggling or disordered fashion: untidy tenements sprawling toward the river.

v.tr.

To cause to spread out in a straggling or disordered fashion.

n.

1. A sprawling position or posture.

2. Haphazard growth or extension outward, especially that resulting from real estate development on the outskirts of a city: urban sprawl.

---

[Middle English sprawlen, from Old English sprawlian, to writhe; see sper- in Indo-European roots.]

---

sprawler n.