squatting

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Present participle of squat: sitting low with the knees bent and the weight on the feet, or bending the knees to lower the body.

   Grammar: No object: he was squatting by the fire.

   Patterns

   • squatting down
   • squatting on something

   The child was squatting beside the pond to watch the frogs.

   She is squatting with a heavy bar at the gym.

   We found him squatting behind the car, looking for his keys.

2. 2verbintransitive

   Present participle of squat in its housing sense: living in an empty building or on land without permission and without paying.

   Grammar: No object: they are squatting in an empty house.

   Patterns

   • squatting in something

   Several families were squatting in the abandoned factory.

   He spent a year squatting in a flat in the city.

   People caught squatting may be asked to leave by the owner.

Common combinations

squatting down

She was squatting down to tie her laces.

squatting in a building

They were squatting in an old warehouse.

squatting on land

The group was squatting on land at the edge of town.

squatting position

Hold the squatting position for ten seconds.

Synonyms and how they differ

crouching

Crouching suggests bending low, often to hide or get ready to move, while squatting is a more settled position.

hunkering

Hunkering is informal and often followed by down, suggesting settling in for a while.

occupying

Occupying a building is wider and can be legal, whereas squatting implies having no permission.

Opposites

Word family

squat verb

to bend the knees and lower the body, or to live somewhere without permission

squatter noun

a person who lives in a place without permission

squat noun

a gym exercise, or a building lived in illegally

Commonly confused: squatting or crouching?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “squatting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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