verb / noun
sprawl
SPRAWL/sprɔːl/
To spread loosely over an extended area.
The woman sprawls across the sofa with her arms and legs loosely extended.
Etymology
Old English spreawlian described convulsive movements of the arms and legs. The meaning shifted to being spread out, then to stretching carelessly or ungracefully—the posture behind the modern sense of awkward or extensive spreading.
In context
you could just let it sprawl all over the ground and grow. Of course, that's going to probably introduce a little more disease and it's going to take up a lot more horizontal space
More examples
- Pumpkin vines sprawl over the garden path.
- Urban sprawl replaces nearby farmland with roads and houses.
- He sprawls on the couch with his legs stretched out.
Forms
sprawl · sprawls · sprawled · sprawling