noun · academic
sprawl
/sprɔːl/SPRAWL
Band 7+task2speaking
the uncontrolled spreading of urban development into neighbouring rural areas
Examples
“Urban sprawl has consumed large areas of farmland around the city.”
“Critics argue that sprawl increases car dependency and pollution.”
“Policies that limit sprawl often promote higher-density housing.”
Band 8 sentence
“Unchecked urban sprawl undermines agricultural land and strains transport networks.”
Collocations
- urban sprawl
- controlling/limiting sprawl
Word family
sprawling adjto sprawl verb
Common mistakes
The sprawl of the city is bad.→The urban sprawl of the city is bad.
There is many sprawl around.→There is a lot of sprawl around.
Say it for a higher band
5expansion→6urban expansion→7+sprawl
Synonyms
urban expansion
Easily confused
spread
“The disease continued to spread across the region.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Hometown & Housing
Learn it with its set