sprawl
1
5.5
- noun
- /sprɔl/
:
postura despatarrada
- My knees gave out for good, and I toppled backward onto the bed in a sprawl.
- sprawl on the floor
- face-first sprawl
- supine sprawl
Examples
-
Tom fell over backward and landed in a sprawl.
Fiction book (1997) -
From his supine sprawl on the living room rug.
Fiction book (1998) -
I could see Bobby Bell, his body in a twisted sprawl, but I could not see the others.
Fiction book (1998) -
Once outside the truck, Hoffman lay on the grass in a limp sprawl, face down.
Fiction book (1996) -
She slumped from a sitting position to a supine sprawl.
Fiction book (2001) -
She collapsed on the bed in a careless sprawl—her thighs loose in a parody of invitation.
Fiction book (1996) -
After falling from the swing, she landed in a painful sprawl on the grass.
-
He awoke to find himself in a strange sprawl on the couch after a long night of studying.
-
The dog lay in a happy sprawl across the living room floor, enjoying the sunshine.
Compounds
- Specialized
5
4.9
The unplanned spread of a city into nearby countryside that makes houses and shops far apart
Surface Forms
Etymology
Sprawl comes from an old word that meant 'to spread out', like the simple word spread. So a sprawl of arms and legs is an awkward posture where the arms and legs are stretched out in different directions.