SQUAT (squatted, squatter, squattest, squatting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: squatted    , squatter    , squattest    , squatting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does squat mean? 

• SQUAT (noun)
  The noun SQUAT has 3 senses:

1. exercising by repeatedly assuming a crouching position with the knees bent; strengthens the leg muscles

2. a small worthless amount

3. the act of assuming or maintaining a crouching position with the knees bent and the buttocks near the heels

  Familiarity information: SQUAT used as a noun is uncommon.

• SQUAT (adjective)
  The adjective SQUAT has 2 senses:

1. short and thick; as e.g. having short legs and heavy musculature

2. having a low center of gravity; built low to the ground

  Familiarity information: SQUAT used as an adjective is rare.

• SQUAT (verb)
  The verb SQUAT has 3 senses:

1. sit on one's heels

2. be close to the earth, or be disproportionately wide

3. occupy (a dwelling) illegally

  Familiarity information: SQUAT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SQUAT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Exercising by repeatedly assuming a crouching position with the knees bent; strengthens the leg muscles

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

knee bend; squat; squatting

Hypernyms ("squat" is a kind of...):

leg exercise (exercise designed to strengthen the leg muscles)

Derivation:

squat (sit on one's heels)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small worthless amount

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

diddley; diddly; diddly-shit; diddly-squat; diddlyshit; diddlysquat; doodly-squat; jack; shit; squat

Context example:

you don't know jack

Hypernyms ("squat" is a kind of...):

small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of assuming or maintaining a crouching position with the knees bent and the buttocks near the heels

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

squat; squatting

Hypernyms ("squat" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Derivation:

squat (sit on one's heels)

• SQUAT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Short and thick; as e.g. having short legs and heavy musculature

Synonyms:

chunky; dumpy; low-set; squat; squatty; stumpy

Context example:

a stumpy ungainly figure

Similar:

little; short (low in stature; not tall)

Derivation:

squatness (the property of being short and broad)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having a low center of gravity; built low to the ground

Synonyms:

squat; underslung

Similar:

low (literal meanings; being at or having a relatively small elevation or upward extension)

Derivation:

squatness (the property of being short and broad)

• SQUAT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they squat    ... he / she / it squats   
Past simple: squatted   
Past participle: squatted   
-ing form: squatting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sit on one's heels

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

crouch; hunker; hunker down; scrunch; scrunch up; squat

Context example:

The children hunkered down to protect themselves from the sandstorm

Hypernyms (to "squat" is one way to...):

sit; sit down (be seated)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

The children squat in the rocking chair
There squat some children in the rocking chair

Derivation:

squat (the act of assuming or maintaining a crouching position with the knees bent and the buttocks near the heels)

squat (exercising by repeatedly assuming a crouching position with the knees bent; strengthens the leg muscles)

squatting (the act of assuming or maintaining a crouching position with the knees bent and the buttocks near the heels)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be close to the earth, or be disproportionately wide

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

The building squatted low

Hypernyms (to "squat" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Occupy (a dwelling) illegally

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "squat" is one way to...):

lodge in; occupy; reside (live (in a certain place))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

squatter (someone who settles on land without right or title)

 Context examples 

Sure enough, he was squatting among his blankets beside his fire in his little camp.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At other times this hairy man squatted by the fire with head between his legs and slept.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Cherokee was too squat, too close to the ground.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Martin and Cheese- Face were two savages, of the stone age, of the squatting place and the tree refuge.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

A cell characterized by the presence of a tuft of blunt, squat microvilli (120-140/cell) on the cell surface.

(Brush Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

He squatted down in front of the wooden chair and examined the seat of it with the greatest attention.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Another night; and in the morning, being more rational, he untied the leather string that fastened the squat moose-hide sack.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I saw a dark, creeping figure which crawled round the corner and squatted in front of the door.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At one side of this was a squat, brass-bound wooden box, the lid of which was hinged upwards, with this curious old-fashioned key projecting from the lock.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This put me in a great fear, and I crawled under cover of the nearest live-oak and squatted there, hearkening, as silent as a mouse.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)