squat

play

verb \ ˈskwät \

Definition of squat

squatted; squatting

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 a :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

squatted by the campfire

b :to exercise by performing a squat (see ³squat 3a)

3 :to be or become a squatter

See squat defined for English-language learners

See squat defined for kids

Examples of squat in a Sentence

He squatted behind the bush to avoid being seen.
A family has been squatting in that house for months.

Recent Examples of squat from the Web

In terms of what increases the chances for a serious groin gash, researchers found two factors: lying on your back, rather than squatting, standing, or sitting during grooming; and having someone else do the grooming.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "Rare pubic-grooming data reveals injuries, odd habits, and nicked bits," 17 Aug. 2017
On Sunday morning, the ball carrier crouched in the backfield as President Armstrong, aka blocker 61, squatted in the turf.

— enquirer, Cincinnati.com, "TMC president takes part in football practice; soccer programs return from Costa Rica," 17 Aug. 2017
The officer then squats on Hubbard’s stomach and punches his face and head as another officer attempts to restrain Hubbard.

— veronica hilbring, Essence.com, "Video Shows White Cop Beating Black Motorist During Routine Traffic Stop," 16 Aug. 2017
Many injures were also reported among protesters, some of whom were sheltered inside Rote Flora, a center of left-wing German radicalism and former theater where activists have squatted for nearly three decades.

— isaac stanley-becker, Washington Post, "Calls for calm at G-20 protests after overnight rioting rocks Hamburg," 8 July 2017
Luetje said in an interview at Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG’s headquarters in the city’s Speicherstadt, a warren of centuries-old brick warehouses squatting over a canal offshoot of the Elbe river.

— patrick donahue, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Confronts German Port City That's Already Turning to China," 5 July 2017
A video posted to the team’s official social media accounts before the season showed Cespedes squatting 900 pounds at Barwis’s facility.

— james wagner, New York Times, "Mets’ Plan to Keep Yoenis Cespedes Healthy: Add Water, Stir, and Hope," 4 July 2017
Wormsley attained 525 pounds in the dead lift and squatted 425 pounds in the offseason.

— gene chamberlain, Elgin Courier-News, "Recruiting notes: Jacobs lineman Jimmy Wormsley opts for Southern Illinois," 27 June 2017
Todays Freaky Friday so Derrius squats 650 @DhaSickest #Freaks pic.twitter.com/wtI9obhu6u -- Aaron Moffitt (@AaronTMoffitt) June 23, 2017 LSU FOOTBALL CAMP watched @DhaSickest lift 650lbs was so impressed.

— mark heim, AL.com, "Watch LSU's Derrius Guice squat 650 pounds," 26 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'squat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of squat

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

squat Synonyms

Synonyms

couch, huddle, hunch, hunker (down), scrunch, crouch, squinch

Related Words

curl up

squat

adjective

Definition of squat

squatter; squattest

1 :sitting with the haunches close above the heels

2 a :low to the ground

b :marked by disproportionate shortness or thickness

—

squatly

adverb

—

squatness

noun

See squat defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of squat from the Web

The skull—unusually wide and unusually squat—made its way to a collector who gave it to the College of Charleston’s Mace Brown Museum of Natural History.

— sarah zhang, The Atlantic, "A Prehistoric Toothless Dolphin That Ate by Vacuuming Up Squid," 23 Aug. 2017
At dawn in Xochimilco, home to Mexico City’s famed floating gardens, farmers in muddied rain boots squat among rows of beets as a group of chefs arrive to sample sweet fennel and the pungent herb known as epazote.

— lisa martine jenkins, The Seattle Times, "Mexico City floating farms, chefs team up to save tradition," 11 Aug. 2017
Snapshot: A dwarf version of Mexican sage, the Santa Barbara cultivar stays compact, producing a squat evergreen bush with upright stems and narrow leaves.

— debbie arrington, sacbee, "Hummingbirds can’t resist this compact purple sage," 4 Aug. 2017
Miller is a short, squat interior run stopper who, at his best, gets off the snap quickly, gives solid effort and often lines up as a tilted nose against the center.

— terez a. paylor, kansascity, "Chiefs add defensive-tackle help, sign veteran Roy Miller," 2 Aug. 2017
Koreatown/Hollywood While Vermont Avenue is expected to get its own subway, light rail, or bus rapid transit, busy Western Avenue isn’t getting squat.

— neal broverman, Los Angeles Magazine, "4 Neighborhoods That Need a Streetcar More Than DTLA," 19 July 2017
How to incorporate more eccentric intent into your training The most practical application for a healthy individual is to modify your lifting tempo and identify each phase of the movement. Revisiting the squat example,

— aj lamb, ms, cscs, pes, Philly.com, "Lifting vs. lowering weights: Do we have strength training backwards?," 26 June 2017
Bike Box, which had to temporarily close to be relocated in the 100- by 160-foot lot, will be joined by three containers arranged in a squat U-shape.

— joseph hernandez, chicagotribune.com, "Green City Market, Friistyle French fry stand open today in Bronzeville shipping-container mall," 21 June 2017
The squat white brick building with a red brick smokestack abutting Carroll Creek Park is believed to be the last vestige of what was once a burgeoning industry.

— michael dresser, baltimoresun.com, "Frederick hotel project OK’d by legislature called growth catalyst, boondoggle," 21 June 2017

First Known Use of squat

15th century

squat Synonyms

Synonyms

chunky, dumpy, heavyset, stocky, squatty, stout, stubby, stumpy, thickset

Related Words

beefy, brawny, bulky, burly, husky, sturdy, thick, thickish, weighty; chubby, corpulent, fat, fleshy, full, gross, heavy, obese, overweight, plump, portly, pudgy, roly-poly, rotund, round, tubby; paunchy, potbellied; flabby, soft

Near Antonyms

delicate, fragile, frail, puny; lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin; angular, bony (also boney), gaunt, lank, lanky, rawboned, sinewy; scraggy, scrawny, slight; anorexic, cadaverous, emaciated, haggard, skeletal, wasted; spindly, twiggy, waspish, weedy, willowy, wiry

squat

noun

Definition of squat

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 :an exercise in which a standing person lowers to a position in which the torso is erect and the knees are deeply bent and then rises to an upright position

Note: A squat can be done while holding weights, with a barbell on the upper back, or without weights.

b weightlifting :a lift involving a squat done 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

See squat defined for English-language learners

Examples of squat in a Sentence

He didn't do squat all day.
She lives in a squat.

Recent Examples of squat from the Web

His 600-pound squat ranked third behind only a couple of former Penn State linemen.

— ralph d. russo, The Seattle Times, "Saquon Strong: Penn State’s Barkley lifts himself to top," 22 Aug. 2017
The Pump & Kegel workout ($40) combines squats and lunges with breathing exercises designed to deliver more oxygen to the baby.

— katy schneider, The Cut, "The Most Exciting New Stores Opening in New York This Fall," 22 Aug. 2017
Mostly, his lift program is based on five key body actions: Push, pull, carry, incline, squat.

— patrick brennan, Cincinnati.com, "Inside Xavier basketball's summer workouts," 16 Aug. 2017
On the weekend of July 29, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute celebrated the hatching of an adorable brown kiwi—a squat, ovoid bird native to New Zealand’s North Island.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "Conservationists Hatch a Kiwi Cutie-Pie," 9 Aug. 2017
Repeat the jump squat, returning to starting position.

— kaleigh fasanella, Teen Vogue, "Karena Dawn and Katrina Scott of Tone It Up Teach Us 5 Stress-Reducing Workouts," 26 July 2017
Wilson posted the second-fastest 40-yard dash time among linebackers during Alabama's spring testing (4.59) while his 505-pound squat was tied with Evans for the best among Tide linebackers.

— matt zenitz, AL.com, "Will Mack Wilson see time on defense this season?," 17 July 2017
Strode’s workout was intense, including an up-tempo set of squats, tricep dips and lunges.

— macaela mackenzie, Allure, "This Pregnant Fitness Blogger Did A Workout While in Labor," 14 July 2017
Boucher lifts four days a week, focusing on single-leg balance, dumbbell squats, and leg lifts, all geared around making his knee stable and strengthening the left hip and quad, both of which were also affected by the injury.

— mandela namaste, SI.com, "Will An NBA Team Give Chris Boucher A Shot?," 21 June 2017

First Known Use of squat

1580

squat Synonyms

Synonyms

beans, bubkes (also bupkes or bupkus), continental, damn, darn (also durn), diddly [slang], diddly-squat [slang], doodley-squat (or doodly-squat), fig, ghost, hoot, iota, lick, modicum, rap, jot [slang], syllable, tittle, whit, whoop

Related Words

ace, bit, crumb, dab, driblet, glimmer, hint, little, mite, nip, ounce, particle, peanuts, pin, ray, scrap, scruple, semblance, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), snap, speck, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, touch, trace

SQUAT Defined for English Language Learners

squat

play

verb

Definition of squat for English Language Learners

: to bend your knees and lower your body so that you are close to your heels or sitting on your heels
: to live in a building or on land without the owner's permission and without paying

squat

adjective

Definition of squat for English Language Learners

: short and thick

squat

noun

Definition of squat for English Language Learners

: a position in which your knees are bent and your body lowered so that you are close to your heels or sitting on your heels
: the least amount : anything at all
: an empty building that squatters live in

SQUAT Defined for Kids

squat

play

verb \ ˈskwät \

Definition of squat for Students

squatted; squatting

1 :to crouch by bending the knees fully so as to sit on or close to the heels

2 :to settle without any right on land that someone else owns

3 :to settle on government land in order to become its owner

squat

adjective

Definition of squat for Students

squatter; squattest

1 :low to the ground

2 :having a short thick body

squat

noun

Definition of squat for Students

:a position in which the knees are fully bent and the body sits on or close to the heels

Learn More about squat

See words that rhyme with squat Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for squat Spanish Central: Translation of squat Nglish: Translation of squat for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of squat for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about squat

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squat

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squatly

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squat Synonyms

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squat

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SQUAT Defined for English Language Learners

squat

Definition of squat for English Language Learners

squat

Definition of squat for English Language Learners

squat

Definition of squat for English Language Learners

SQUAT Defined for Kids

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squat

Definition of squat for Students

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