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“squat”
squat (verb), squats; squatted; squatting
1. To sit in a crouching position with knees bent and the buttocks on or near the heels: While playing with the children, Janet squatted down on the floor.
2. To crouch down, as an animal does: To imitate a cat about to jump, Tommy squatted down and was ready to leap at the imaginary mouse.
3. To settle on unoccupied land without legal claim: The poverty-stricken family squatted on some farmland in a dry spot, although the property didn't belong to them.
4. To occupy a given piece of public land in order to acquire title to it: Since the small forest area didn't seem to belong to anyone, Jack and his family squatted on it for quite a long time hoping to claim it as legal owners.
5. Etymology: "to crouch on the heels", from Old French esquatir, "press down, lay flat, crush"; from es-, "out" (from Latin ex-) + Old French quatir, "press down, flatten"; from Vulgar Latin coactire "to press together, to force"; from Latin coactus, past participle of cogere, "to compel, to curdle, to collect"; from co- + agere, "to drive".
2. To crouch down, as an animal does: To imitate a cat about to jump, Tommy squatted down and was ready to leap at the imaginary mouse.
3. To settle on unoccupied land without legal claim: The poverty-stricken family squatted on some farmland in a dry spot, although the property didn't belong to them.
4. To occupy a given piece of public land in order to acquire title to it: Since the small forest area didn't seem to belong to anyone, Jack and his family squatted on it for quite a long time hoping to claim it as legal owners.
5. Etymology: "to crouch on the heels", from Old French esquatir, "press down, lay flat, crush"; from es-, "out" (from Latin ex-) + Old French quatir, "press down, flatten"; from Vulgar Latin coactire "to press together, to force"; from Latin coactus, past participle of cogere, "to compel, to curdle, to collect"; from co- + agere, "to drive".
This entry is located in the following unit:
ag-, agen-, act-, agi-, agit-
(page 14)
Word Entries at Get Words:
“squat”
A place of unauthorized residence or a place occupied by those who are not there legally: The Roma, or Gypsies, were removed from a squat just south of Paris and then they were expelled by the police from a nearby church where they had taken refuge.
This entry is located in the following unit:
English Words in Action, Group S
(page 11)
squat (SKWAHT) (verb), squats; squatted; squatting
1. To sit or to position oneself in a manner that is close to the ground while resting one’s lower body on his or her heels: Jerry squatted behind the desk so his brother couldn't find him while they were playing hide and seek.
2. To live in a building or on land without the owner's permission and without paying to be there: The migrant workers were squatting on the vacant farm.
2. To live in a building or on land without the owner's permission and without paying to be there: The migrant workers were squatting on the vacant farm.
That family has been squatting in that house for months.
This entry is located in the following unit:
English Words in Action, Group S
(page 12)