What does squatting mean?
Squatting can describe a simple physical posture, a form of exercise, or the occupation of property without permission. In its bodily sense, the word refers to crouching or sitting with the knees bent and the body lowered close to the ground. As an exercise, squatting consists of repeatedly lowering the body into a deep squat and rising again, usually as part of strength or fitness training. In legal and social contexts, squatting means living in, or otherwise occupying, land or a building without the owner's permission or a recognized legal right. This meaning often carries political or confrontational associations, particularly when used of activists, although the term can simply describe the activity. The word therefore links an ordinary posture with significant questions about property, housing, and access. Its usage is established in both British and American English, although legal classifications and attitudes toward occupancy vary by jurisdiction.
To crouch or sit with the knees deeply bent and the body lowered close to the ground; to occupy land or a building without legal permission; or to perform a squat exercise.
"Several residents were squatting in the vacant property when the police arrived."
The property-occupation sense is often used in legal, political, and housing contexts. The exercise sense is informal but common.
The act or state of crouching low, exercising through deep squats, or occupying property without permission.
"The court ruled that the occupants had engaged in unauthorized squatting."
Usually uncountable in modern usage, especially in legal and political contexts.
Rare; the noun is normally uncountable, especially when referring to the activity or legal occupation of property.
"The report documented several separate squattings across the district."
From a body position to a political and legal act, squatting shows how a single everyday movement can acquire entirely different meanings.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does squatting come from?
The word comes from the Old English word "squat," meaning to crouch or sit down low. It developed into the modern verb and adjective forms used for a low, compact posture. The agent noun "squatter" was formed from the same root and came to refer especially to someone who occupied property without permission; the legal sense of "squatting" developed from this usage. The word is Germanic in origin and has related forms in other Germanic languages.
Related word forms
How squatting is actually used
The sense of occupying property without permission is common in legal, political, and housing contexts, where it may be neutral, activist, or strongly disapproving depending on the speaker and circumstances. The exercise sense is informal but widely understood. In British English, the historical spelling "squatting" is standard; the noun is generally uncountable in modern use.
Easily confused with squatting
Squat is the base verb and adjective, while squatting is its present-participle and gerund form, although squatting is also used as a noun for the activity or occupation itself.
A squatter is a person who occupies property without permission, whereas squatting refers to the act or state of doing so.