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squatter
6 dictionary results for: Squatter
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
squat·ter       [skwot-er] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a person or thing that squats.
2.a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right, or payment of rent.
3.a person who settles on land under government regulation, in order to acquire title.
[Origin: 1775–85; squat + -er1]

—Related forms
squat·ter·dom, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
squat       [skwot] Pronunciation Key, verb, squat·ted or squat, squat·ting, adjective, squat·ter, squat·test, noun
–verb (used without object)
1.to sit in a low or crouching position with the legs drawn up closely beneath or in front of the body; sit on one's haunches or heels.
2.to crouch down or cower, as an animal.
3.to settle on or occupy property, esp. otherwise unoccupied property, without any title, right, or payment of rent.
4.to settle on public land under government regulation, in order to acquire title.
5.Nautical. (of a vessel, esp. a power vessel) to draw more water astern when in motion forward than when at rest.
–verb (used with object)
6.to cause to squat.
7.to occupy (property) as a squatter.
–adjective
8.(of a person, animal, the body, etc.) short and thickset.
9.low and thick or broad: The building had a squat shape.
10.seated or being in a squatting position; crouching.
–noun
11.the act or fact of squatting.
12.a squatting position or posture.
13.a weightlifting exercise in which a person squats and then returns to an erect position while holding a barbell at the back of the shoulders.
14.Nautical. the tendency of a vessel to draw more water astern when in motion than when stationary.
15.Slang. doodly-squat.
16.a place occupied by squatters.
[Origin: 1250–1300; (v.) ME squatten < OF esquater, esquatir, equiv. to es- ex-1 + quatir < VL *coactīre to compress, equiv. to L coāct(us), ptp. of cōgere to compress (co- co- + ag(ere) to drive + -tus ptp. suffix) + -īre inf. suffix; (n.) ME, deriv. of the v.; (adj.) ME: in a squatting position, orig., ptp. of the v.]

—Related forms
squatly, adverb
squatness, noun

—Synonyms 8. dumpy, stocky, square.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
squat       (skwŏt)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   squat·ted, squat·ting, squats

v.   intr.
  1. To sit in a crouching position with knees bent and the buttocks on or near the heels.
  2. To crouch down, as an animal does.
  3. To settle on unoccupied land without legal claim.
  4. To occupy a given piece of public land in order to acquire title to it.

v.   tr.
  1. To put (oneself) into a crouching posture.
  2. To occupy as a squatter.

adj.   squat·ter, squat·test
  1. Short and thick; low and broad.
  2. Crouched in a squatting position.

n.  
  1. The act of squatting.
  2. A squatting or crouching posture.
  3. Sports A lift or a weightlifting exercise in which one squats and stands while holding a weighted barbell supported by the back of the shoulders.
  4. The place occupied by a squatter.
  5. The lair of an animal such as a hare.
  6. Slang A small or worthless amount; diddlysquat.


[Middle English squatten, from Old French esquatir, to crush : es-, intensive pref. (from Latin ex-; see ex-) + quatir, to press flat (from Vulgar Latin *coāctīre, from Latin coāctus, past participle of cōgere, to compress : co-, co- + agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots).]

squat'ter n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
squatter

noun
1. someone who settles lawfully on government land with the intent to acquire title to it 
2. someone who settles on land without right or title 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: squat·ter
Pronunciation: 'skwä-t&r
Function: noun
: a person who occupies real property without a claim of right or title
NOTE: In most jurisdictions, a squatter cannot gain title to land through adverse possession because adverse possession requires possession of the property under a claim of right or color of title.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Squatter

Squat"ter\, n. 1. One who squats; specifically, one who settles unlawfully upon land without a title. In the United States and Australia the term is sometimes applied also to a person who settles lawfully upon government land under permission and restrictions, before acquiring title.

In such a tract, squatters and trespassers were tolerated to an extent now unknown. --Macaulay.

2. (Zo["o]l.) See Squat snipe, under Squat.

Squatter sovereignty, the right claimed by the squatters, or actual residents, of a Territory of the United States to make their own laws. [Local, U.S.] --Bartlett.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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