n.
Pronunciation: ' skwät
Function: verb
Inflected Form: squat · ted ; squat · ting
Etymology: Middle English squatten to crush, crouch in hiding, from Middle French (Picard dialect) esquatir, escuater, from Old French es- ex- + quatir to hide, from Vulgar Latin *coactire to squeeze, alteration of Latin coactare to compel ― more at CACHE
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1 : to cause (oneself) to crouch or sit on the ground
2 : to occupy as a squatter < squat in an abandoned building>
intransitive verb
1 : to crouch close to the ground as if to escape observation <a hare squatting in the grass>
2 : to assume or maintain a position in which the body is supported on the feet and the knees are bent so that the buttocks rest on or near the heels
3 : to be or become a squatter