sprawl
/spɹɔːl/verb, noun
sprawl is spelled S-P-R-A-W-L: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, sprawl means “To sit with the limbs spread out” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sprawl?
| Letters | 6: S-P-R-A-W-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,270th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sprawl?
Sprawl appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sprawl?
- UK /spɹɔːl/
- British /spɹoːl/
- /spɹɔl/
Sprawl has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sprawl.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sprawl?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sprawl from its last stressed vowel (/ɔl/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sprawl
- sprawls present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- sprawling participle, present
- sprawled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sprawl mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To sit with the limbs spread out.
- 2
To spread out in a disorderly fashion; to straggle.
- 3
To scoot the legs backwards, so as to land on the upper back of an opponent attempting a takedown.
noun
- 1
An ungainly sprawling posture.
- 2
A straggling, haphazard growth, especially of housing on the edge of a city.
- 3
A defensive technique that is done in response to certain takedown attempts, where one scoots the legs backwards so as to land on the upper back of the opponent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sprawl in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | s'affaler , s'étaler, s'étendre |
| German | ausspreizen, grätschen , sich ausbreiten , Wuchern, Ausufern, Ausdehnung |
| Portuguese | esparramar-se , espalhar |
| Spanish | desparrancarse, esparrancarse, despernancarse, espernancarse, descuajeringarse, descuajaringarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sprawl come from?
From Middle English spraulen, from Old English spreawlian (“move convulsively”), ultimately through a Proto-Germanic form cognate with *spreutaną (“to sprout”) from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”). Compare North Frisian spraweli, Norwegian sprala, Swedish sprala.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).