Squatter
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈskwɒtə/
- US IPA: /ˈskwÉ‘Ëtəɹ/
Full definition of squatter
Noun
squatter
(plural squatters)- One who squats, sits down idly.
- 1907, w, The Younger Set Chapter 6, “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera,...the chlorotic squatters on huge yachts, the speed-mad fugitives from the furies of ennui, the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, … !â€
- One who occupies a building or land without title or permission. From 1788.
- (Australia, historical) One who occupied Crown land. From 1828.
- 2004, James Jupp, The English in Australia, %22squatters%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=U8iEEyt2OV&sig=B6JhQa9ljrDJeM1LBOrDlh6ncjI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p9NiUNnwA-2ziQeD3ICoCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22squatter%22|%22squatters%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 62,While settlement in New South Wales was initially confined, many moved outside the boundaries to become squatters, eventually consolidating their originally illegal hold on the land.
- (Australia, historical) A large-scale grazier and landowner.
- 1970, George Sampson, The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature, 3rd Edition, %22squatters%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=sLaS9XMuMR&sig=H846EWEnB2kKOerdiEa6meMqBMU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gPxiUKMW5o2IB43mgdAE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22squatter%22|%22squatters%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 754,Thomas Alexander Browne was a squatter, a magistrate and a commissioner of goldfields and knew thoroughly the life he described in Robbery Under Arms (1888), the story of the bushranger Captain Starlight—first serialised in The Sydney Mail in 1881—and in his numerous other novels, which included The Squatter′s Dream (1890).
- 1993, Manning Clark, Michael Cathcart (abridging editor), Manning Clark′s History of Australia: Abridged by Michael Cathcart, %22squatters%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=UMEK0vWSK2&sig=rkT-LPD5ABIUkpTsktYFUBDZMkM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p9NiUNnwA-2ziQeD3ICoCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22squatter%22|%22squatters%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 218,In Parliament, at least, the squatters were secure.In the early 1840s a severe depression threatened livelihoods in all the colonies except South Australia and many squatters resorted to slaughtering their sheep and boiling them down for tallow.
- 2010, Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Peter Carey: A Literary Companion, %22squatters%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=rnR9qWTdxB&sig=jrI2d5F4NnpaSLkzmZJW8hWg3nc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p9NiUNnwA-2ziQeD3ICoCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22squatter%22|%22squatters%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 233,His dealings with squatter R. R. McBean and superintendents Hare and Nicolson amaze the 16-year-old, who has little experience with the wealthy privileged class.
- (informal) A kind of Asian toilet where the user squats instead of sitting.
Usage notes
In Australian historical usage, the distinction between the senses of occupier of Crown land and large scale landowner is often blurred; many of the original illegal landholders became rich and, as a group, politically powerful.