Squat

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /skwÉ’t/
• US IPA: /skwÉ‘t/
• Rhymes: -É’t

From Middle English squatten, from Old French esquatir, from Latin coactus, perfect passive participle of cōgō ("force together, compress").

The sense "nothing" may by a source or a derivation of diddly-squat.

Full definition of squat

Adjective

1. Relatively short or low and thick or broad
• Robert Browningthe round, squat turret
• GrewThe head the squill insect is broad and squat.
• 1927, H. P. Lovecraft, On the gentle slopes there are farms, ancient and rocky, with squat, moss-coated cottages brooding eternally over old New England secrets in the lee of great ledges ...
2. Sitting on the hams or heels; sitting close to the ground; cowering; crouching.
• MiltonHim there they found,
  Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve.

Noun

1. A position assumed by bending deeply at the knees while resting on one's feet.
• 2006, Yael Calhoun and Matthew R. Calhoun, Create a Yoga Practice for Kids, page 72:Sit in a squat, with your feet a comfortable distance apart.
2. (weightlifting): A specific exercise in weightlifting performed by bending deeply at the knees and then rising, especially with a barbell resting across the shoulders.
• 2001, Robert Wolff, Robert Wolff's Book of Great Workouts, page 58-59:The king of all quad exercises, and arguably the best single-weight resistance exercise, is the squat.
3. A toilet used by squatting as opposed to sitting; a squat toilet.
4. A building occupied without permission, as practiced by a squatter.
• 1996 July 8, Chris Smith, "Live Free or Die", in New York Magazine‎, page 36:"... If you want to spend a night in a squat, it's all political to get in." Lately, as buildings have filled and become stringent about new admissions, much of the squatters' "My house is your house" rhetoric has become hollow.
5. (slang) Something of no value; nothing.I know squat about nuclear physics.
• 2003 May 6, "Dear Dotti", Weekly World News‎, volume 24, number 34, page 23:We didn't ask for rent, but we assumed they'd help around the house. But they don't do squat.
6. (obsolete) A sudden or crushing fall.
7. (mining) A small vein of ore.
8. A mineral consisting of tin ore and spar.

Derived terms

• breathing squat
• front squat
• hack squat
• sissy squat
• squat snipe

Verb

1. To bend deeply at the knees while resting on one's feet.
• 1901, Miles Franklin, , chapter IIHe was not going to squat henlike on his place as the cockies around him did.
2. (weightlifting) To exercise by bending deeply at the knees and then rising, while bearing weight across the shoulders or upper back.
• 1994, Kurt, Mike, & Brett Brungardt, The Complete Book of Butt and Legs, page 161For 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.
3. To occupy or reside in a place without the permission of the owner.
• 1890, Jacob Riis, , chapter VIIHuddled 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.
4. To sit close to the ground; to cower; to stoop, or lie close, to escape observation, as a partridge or rabbit.
5. (dated) To bruise or flatten by a fall; to squash.

Derived terms

• squatter
• squatting

Noun

1. The angel shark (genus Squatina).

Anagrams

• quats