If you crouch down very low and sit on your heels, you squat. If you have to talk to a small child, you might have to squat to talk face-to-face.

The verb squat also means to illegally occupy a building — especially to live in it. If you own vacant property, you need to be careful that someone doesn't decide to squat in the empty house. As an adjective, squat describes someone who is very short and thick. In the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the dwarfs are depicted as squat little men.

Definitions of squat
  1. verb
    sit on one's heels
  2. verb
    be close to the earth, or be disproportionately wide
    “The building squatted low”
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    type of:
  3. verb
    occupy (a dwelling) illegally
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    type of:
    lodge in, occupy, reside
    live (in a certain place)
  4. adjective
    “a little church with a squat tower”
    synonyms: chunky, dumpy, low-set, squatty, stumpy
    little, short
    low in stature; not tall
  5. adjective
    having a low center of gravity; built low to the ground
    synonyms: underslung
  6. noun
    synonyms: squatting
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    type of:
    motility, motion, move, movement
    a change of position that does not entail a change of location
  7. noun
    synonyms: knee bend, squatting
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    type of:
    leg exercise
    exercise designed to strengthen the leg muscles
  8. noun
    a small worthless amount
    synonyms: diddley, diddly, diddly-squat, diddlysquat, doodly-squat, jack
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    type of:
    small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity
    an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude
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