squat
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squat¹
- /skwɒt/ UK
- /skwɑt/ US
- /skwɔt/ Australia
Rhymes with -ɒt
Where it comes from
From Middle English squatten, from Old French esquatir, escatir (“compress, press down, lay flat, crush”), from es- (“ex-”) + quatir (“press down, flatten”), from Vulgar Latin *coactire (“press together, force”), from Latin coāctus, perfect passive participle of cōgō (“force together, compress”).
The sense “nothing” is synchronically analyzable as a clipping of diddly-squat, although diachronically the direction of derivation is uncertain.
adjective squatter · squattest
- Relatively short or low, and thick or broad. The SQUILL-INSECT. […] So called from ſome ſimilitude to the Squill-fiſh: chiefly, in having a long Body cover'd with a Cruſt compoſed of ſeveral Rings or Plates. The Head is broad and ſquat. He hath a pair of notable ſharp Fangs before, both hooked inward like a Bulls horns.
- Sitting on one's heels; sitting close to the ground; cowering or crouching. [H]im there they found, / Squat like a toad, cloſe at the ear of Eve, / Aſſaying by his deviliſh art to reach / The organs of her fancy', and with them forge / Illuſions as he liſt, phantaſms and dreams, […]
noun squats
- A position assumed by bending deeply at the knees while resting on one's feet. Sit in a squat, with your feet a comfortable distance apart.
- Any of various modes of callisthenic exercises performed by moving the body and bending at least one knee.
- A specific exercise in weightlifting performed by bending deeply at the knees and then rising (back squat), especially with a barbell resting across the shoulders (barbell back squat). The king of all quad exercises, and arguably the best single-weight resistance exercise, is the squat.
- A building occupied without permission, as practiced by a squatter. Your dumb self can't appreciate the freedom in my thought / The weak sense of autonomy when I'm flipping in my squat
- A place of concealment in which a hare spends time when inactive, especially during the day; a form.
- A toilet used by squatting as opposed to sitting; a squat toilet.
-
Clipping of diddly-squat; something of no value.
I know squat about nuclear physics.
Similar: nothing
- A small vein of ore.
- A mineral consisting of tin ore and spar. A Mineral, very ponderous, and probably holding Tin. […] 'Twas part of a Squat', at Hewas-Work; not far from Polgouth, in St. Stephens Liberty, Cornwall.
- Squat effect.
- A sudden or crushing fall. bruises, and squats, and falls, which often kill others
- A dental practice set up from scratch instead of joining an existing one. […] needs many patients to be viable — definitely not for the first six months of a squat. Ron mentioned that many graduates ask representatives for advice regarding squats and those he has not deterred have done well […]
verb squats · squatting · squatted
- To bend deeply at the knees while resting on one's feet. He was not going to squat henlike on his place as the cockies around him did.
- To exercise by bending deeply at the knees and then rising, while bearing weight across the shoulders or upper back. For those who are having, or have had, trouble squatting we suggest learning how to squat by performing the front squat […] The front squat allows you almost no alternative but to perform the exercise correctly.
- To lift (a barbell) while performing a squat I can squat 150 lbs.
- To occupy or reside in a place without the permission of the owner. Huddled together in loathsome files, they squat there over night, or until an inquisitive policeman breaks up the congregation with his club, which in Mulberry Street has always free swing.
- To sit close to the ground; to stoop, or lie close to the ground, for example to escape observation. "But there seemed to be little satisfaction got out of this run; every moment the hare squatted, and the hounds lost the scent time after time."
- To bruise or flatten by a fall; to squash.
- To cybersquat. The old homepage for L2TP, www.l2tpd.org, has been squatted by a domain squatter. A malicious person could reinstate this domain with malicious code on it.
- To retire a modeling kit or group of modeling kits. I can't believe they squatted my favorite faction!
squat²
Where it comes from
From Latin squatina.
noun squats
- The angel shark (genus Squatina).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: dumpy, chunky, stumpy, squatty, scrunch, crouch, short, hunker down, low, underslung, low-set, scrunch up, hunker, zip, crash, blind
Translations
Every language
adj relatively short or low and thick or broad
| Español | retaco, regordete, rechoncho, cachigordo, chaparro, chaparrete |
|---|---|
| Português | atarracado, chato |
| Français | trapu |
| Deutsch | untersetzt, gedrungen, kompakt |
| Русский | призе́мистый prizémistyj, корена́стый korenástyj |
| العربية | صَغِير وَثَخِين ṣaḡīr waṯaḵīn |
adj sitting low on the heels
| Español | en cuclillas, de cuclillas |
|---|---|
| Français | accroupi |
| Deutsch | hockend, kauernd, geduckt |
| Ελληνικά | ανακούρκουδα anakoúrkouda |
noun calisthenics exercise
| Español | cuclilla |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 스쿼트 seukwoteu |
| 日本語 | スクワット sukuwatto |
| 中文 | 深蹲 shēndūn |
| Deutsch | Kniebeuge, Freiübungen, Gymnastikübungen ohne Geräte, Kallisthenie |
| Italiano | flessione |
| Ελληνικά | κάθισμα káthisma |
| العربية | قُرْفُصَاء qurfuṣāʔ |
noun position
| Español | cuclillas |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 蹲下 dūnxià |
| Português | agachamento, cócoras |
| Deutsch | Hocke |
| Русский | присе́д priséd |
| العربية | قُرْفُصَاء qurfuṣāʔ |
noun weightlifting exercise
| Español | cuclilla, sentadilla |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 스쿼트 seukwoteu |
| 日本語 | スクワット sukuwatto |
| 中文 | 深蹲 shēndūn |
| Português | agachamento |
| Deutsch | Kniebeuge, Heben |
| Русский | присе́д priséd |
| العربية | قُرْفُصَاء qurfuṣāʔ |
noun building occupied without permission
| Español | okupación, edificio okupado, casa okupada, okupa |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 不法占拠 fuhō senkyo |
| Português | ocupação, okupa |
| Français | squat |
| Deutsch | besetztes Haus |
| Italiano | edificio occupato, casa occupata |
| Ελληνικά | κάνω κατάληψη káno katálipsi |
noun hare's place of concealment
| Deutsch | Mulde |
|---|
noun toilet
| Deutsch | Hocktoilette, Hock-WC, Hockklosett, Hockklo, türkisches Klo |
|---|
noun slang: something of no value
| Deutsch | nischt, so gut wie gar nichts |
|---|---|
| Русский | ничего́ ničevó |
noun mining: small vein
| Deutsch | Ader |
|---|
noun mineral
| Deutsch | Erzfall |
|---|
verb weightlifting: to exercise
| Deutsch | heben (Gewicht), Gewichtheben (n.) |
|---|
verb to bend at the knees
| Español | acuclillarse, acurrucarse, ñangotarse, añangotarse, encuclillarse, apucuyarse |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 웅크리다 ungkeurida |
| 日本語 | しゃがむ shagamu, 蹲る uzukumaru |
| 中文 | 蹲 dūn, 蹲下 dūnxià |
| Português | agachar-se |
| Français | s'accroupir |
| Deutsch | hocken, kauern, (Knie) beugen |
| Italiano | accovacciarsi, accosciarsi |
| Ελληνικά | κάθομαι σταυροπόδι káthomai stavropódi |
| Русский | приседа́ть prisedátʹ, присе́сть priséstʹ, сади́ться на ко́рточки sadítʹsja na kórtočki, сесть на ко́рточки sestʹ na kórtočki |
| Tiếng Việt | ngồi xổm, ngồi chồm hỗm |
| العربية | جَثَمَ jaṯama |
Talk about this word "squat." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/squat. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. squat. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/squat "squat." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/squat.
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@misc{squat_2026,
title = {squat},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/squat},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
