sprawl
Other forms: sprawled; sprawls
When you sprawl, you spread out in an ungainly way, like when you're lying down comfortably on the sofa with your legs and arms flung out around you.
As a noun, the most common use of this word nowadays is in the phrase "urban sprawl" (or "suburban sprawl"), which describes municipal development — things like new neighborhoods, shopping malls, and office complexes — that spreads out of control, according to no approved plan, and usually with pretty ugly results.
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sit or lie with one's limbs spread outtypes:spread-eaglestand with arms and legs spread out
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go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular waysynonyms: straggle
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an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about
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an aggregation or continuous network of urban communitiessynonyms: conurbation, urban sprawl
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