sprawlmart

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noun

Suburban sprawl driven by the proliferation of malls and big-box stores, and the resulting weakening of downtowns and Main Streets.

Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounsprawlmart (uncountable)
  1. derogatoryuncountableurban studiesSuburban sprawl driven by the proliferation of malls and big-box stores, and the resulting weakening of downtowns and Main Streets.

    Sprawlmart resisters are the true advocates of change - appropriate, beneficial, and enduring.

    1998, Roberta Brandes Gratz, Norman Mintz, Cities Back from the Edge: New Life for Downtown, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 158
    2 more examples

    Environmentalists in Vermont say the rural character of the state is endangered by "sprawl-mart development."

    1997, Fred R. David, Cases in Strategic Management

    Crossing under South 8th Street was like an epiphany: from a mess of obnoxious sprawlmart to a greening bliss in just a few steps.

    2024 October 29, Jim O'Donnell, Fountain Creek: Big Lessons from a Little River, Torrey House Press, →ISBN

Origin

Blend of sprawl + Walmart. Coined by US nonprofit organization for historic preservation National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sprawlmart. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sprawlmart

MLA

“sprawlmart.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sprawlmart. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sprawlmart,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sprawlmart.

Source: sprawlmart on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.