I. ˈskwät verb
( 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
II. adjective
( squat·ter ; squat·test )
Date: 15th century
1. : sitting with the haunches close above the heels
2.
a. : low to the ground
b. : marked by disproportionate shortness or thickness
• squat·ly adverb
• squat·ness noun
III. noun
Date: 1580
1.
a. : the act of squatting
b. : the posture of one that squats
2.
a. : a place where one squats
b. : the lair of a small animal
the squat of a hare
3. : a lift in which a standing weight lifter drops to a squatting position and then rises to an upright position while holding a barbell on the shoulders ; also : a competitive event involving this lift
4. chiefly British : an empty house or building that is occupied by squatters
5. slang : diddly-squat