sprawl
verb/sprɔːl/
/sprɔːl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they sprawl | /sprɔːl/ /sprɔːl/ |
| he / she / it sprawls | /sprɔːlz/ /sprɔːlz/ |
| past simple sprawled | /sprɔːld/ /sprɔːld/ |
| past participle sprawled | /sprɔːld/ /sprɔːld/ |
| -ing form sprawling | /ˈsprɔːlɪŋ/ /ˈsprɔːlɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to sit, lie or fall with your arms and legs spread out in a relaxed or careless way
- He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV.
- Something hit her and sent her sprawling to the ground.
- I tripped and went sprawling.
Extra Examples- She found him sprawled across the doorstep.
- She lay sprawled across the bed.
- She sprawled lazily in an armchair.
- She went sprawling across the boat.
- The blow sent him sprawling.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- lazily
- out
- across
- in
- on
- …
- find somebody sprawled across, on, etc. something
- go sprawling
- lie sprawled
- …
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- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to spread in an untidy way; to cover a large area
- The town sprawled along the side of the lake.
Word OriginOld English spreawlian ‘move the limbs convulsively’; related to Danish sprælle ‘kick or splash about’. The noun dates from the early 18th cent.
Check pronunciation:
sprawl