squat

To squat is to lower your body by bending your knees and bringing yourself close to the ground, like an athlete getting ready to move. Outside exercise, it can also mean living in an empty building or on land without the owner's permission. You might talk about doing this move to make your legs stronger, or describe people staying in an abandoned house. The word can also describe something that is short and wide, like a squat little teapot on a kitchen counter.

The word "squat" carries a variety of meanings, ranging from physical fitness to social defiance. Most commonly, it describes the act of lowering one's body by bending the knees, a foundational movement in exercise used to build strength in the legs and core. You might see a catcher squatting behind home plate or a weightlifter powering through a heavy set. This physical position is often associated with stability and preparation for movement.

In a legal and social context, "squat" refers to the act of occupying an empty building or piece of land without permission or payment. A person who does this is known as a "squatter." This practice often arises from housing shortages, homelessness, or political activism. In some places, "squatter's rights" can eventually lead to legal ownership through a process called adverse possession if the person stays long enough.

Beyond these actions, "squat" serves as a descriptive adjective for something short, wide, and thickset—like a squat stone tower or a sturdy, low-slung piece of furniture. It suggests a lack of height but a great deal of sturdiness. Finally, in informal American English, "squat" is frequently used to mean "nothing at all," particularly in the phrase "diddly-squat." If you "don't know squat" about a subject, you are completely uninformed. Whether you're talking about a physical posture, a housing struggle, or a total lack of information, "squat" describes something that is low to the ground and firmly, if sometimes controversially, settled.