1
as in extending
to extend outwards from or as if from a central point The suburbs sprawl for miles beyond the city's downtown.
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2
as in sitting
to rest with the arms and legs spread out There's no feeling like sprawling out on your bed after a hard day's work.
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sprawling Working with local police, the Secret Service conducted site reviews of the sprawling complex and established a security perimeter to prevent suspicious individuals from approaching the president and other VIP attendees. —
Michael Collins, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026 Now, five graduates are employed this school year as paraprofessionals, laying the groundwork for more young people to become teacher aides, a shortage area, and get a foot in the door of the city’s sprawling school system. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026 Wallstedt doesn’t make splashy, sprawling saves like Dominik Hasek was known for. —Joe Smith, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026 Out back, on a stately patio above a sprawling garden overlooking the Potomac, Kalshi's Tarek Mansour snaps a selfie with John Kiriakou, the former CIA whistleblower who Gen Z has recently made viral on TikTok. —Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 25 Apr. 2026 To sniff out the atomic hydrogen — the more diffuse, cooler gas that acts as the initial, sprawling reservoir for future star formation — the team harnessed the immense power of China's Five Hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2026 That has left the vast majority of Gaza’s more than 2 million people confined to sprawling tent camps or the ruins of their homes, with no end in sight to their suffering. —Sam Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026 Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison remains under scrutiny for his past interaction with individuals tied to the Feeding Our Future scheme, a sprawling pandemic-era scam that stole more than $250 million in federal child nutrition funds. —Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2026 The sprawling Fifth Avenue co-op that actress Candice Bergen once shared with her late husband Marshall Rose has been listed for sale at $35 million. —Clio Chang, Curbed, 24 Apr. 2026
Michael Collins, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026 Now, five graduates are employed this school year as paraprofessionals, laying the groundwork for more young people to become teacher aides, a shortage area, and get a foot in the door of the city’s sprawling school system. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026 Wallstedt doesn’t make splashy, sprawling saves like Dominik Hasek was known for. —Joe Smith, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026 Out back, on a stately patio above a sprawling garden overlooking the Potomac, Kalshi's Tarek Mansour snaps a selfie with John Kiriakou, the former CIA whistleblower who Gen Z has recently made viral on TikTok. —Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 25 Apr. 2026 To sniff out the atomic hydrogen — the more diffuse, cooler gas that acts as the initial, sprawling reservoir for future star formation — the team harnessed the immense power of China's Five Hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2026 That has left the vast majority of Gaza’s more than 2 million people confined to sprawling tent camps or the ruins of their homes, with no end in sight to their suffering. —Sam Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026 Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison remains under scrutiny for his past interaction with individuals tied to the Feeding Our Future scheme, a sprawling pandemic-era scam that stole more than $250 million in federal child nutrition funds. —Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2026 The sprawling Fifth Avenue co-op that actress Candice Bergen once shared with her late husband Marshall Rose has been listed for sale at $35 million. —Clio Chang, Curbed, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprawling
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The plan, conveyed through mediators in Pakistan to break a stalemate with Washington, calls for extending the ceasefire so the parties can work toward a permanent end to the fighting, Axios said.— Jon Herskovitz, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
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Vargas then homered to left field, extending the lead to 8-5.— LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
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Harbaugh seemed tense during his Friday press conference sitting next to GM Joe Schoen as the second round of the draft rolled on compared to a much more positive Thursday interview after the first round.— Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026
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Overall the Red Sox have scored two or fewer in 12 of their first 25 games this season, and with a 9-16 record the club is tied for the second-fewest wins in MLB while sitting seven games back of the Yankees in the AL East standings.— Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
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Asia-Pacific markets were trading lower Friday, diverging from Wall Street's record-setting rally.— Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 17 Apr. 2026
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Likewise diverging from the norm, a Retiarius on a pottery relief from Gaul, instead of being almost naked, wears a helmet, body armor, and greaves.— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026
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This was inevitable after McCollum inadvertently kicked Jalen Brunson in the groin, then accused the Knicks star of flopping in Game 1; and then got into a heated spat with Jose Alvarado before sinking the game-winning jumper in Game 2.— Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
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Meyers asked if Winkler had any sense during previews that the show was flopping.— Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
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From global dishes to comfort food classics, many supermarkets now offer — and are expanding — buffet-style prepared foods that rival takeout in both variety and convenience.— Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026
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While the business itself operates within the expanding private credit market, an asset class that has drawn significant institutional capital in recent years, the partnership behind it remains its most distinctive feature.— NIa Bowers, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
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There are several factors driving the staggering heat, including a unyielding ridge of high pressure straddling Southern California and weaker-than-normal coastal winds, which typically drive upwelling along the coast.— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
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Bryan straddling the political center reflects the disjointed desires of a nation that polls consistently inconsistent on issues, one that in 2024 yearned for both universal health care and the removal of hardworking longtime residents.— Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026
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For patrician statesmen, grandeur is usually understated, radiating restraint rather than gawk-inspiring shows of brazen wealth.— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2026
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On the water, the 55-year-old mother seems to come alive, her adventurous spirit radiating outward, lighting her from the inside out.— Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2026
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That breakout season prompted him to USC, and, later, Oregon, where, as a first-team All-American, Pregnon fully matured while benching 465 pounds and squatting 655.— Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
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Police said Tejada and Alston were squatting in the apartment when Vitels showed up to move either herself or someone else in.— Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sprawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/sprawling. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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