squat

Everyday

1. To squat is to bend your knees and lower your body so you sit on your heels or just above the ground. tree →
2. A squat is an exercise where you bend your knees and stand up again, keeping your back straight. tree →
3. To squat is to live in an empty building or on land without permission or paying rent; the building is then called a squat. tree →
4. Squat (adjective) means short and wide: a squat little teapot. tree →
5. (US slang) Squat or «diddly-squat» means nothing at all: «you know squat». tree →

In the lessons

PE and health: squats make leg muscles strong; keep your knees over your toes. Everyday life: squatting down to look at a bug. Law and news: squatting in empty buildings is a crime in some places, like homes in England. Stories: a squat house or a squat toad is short and fat.

Examples

• We did twenty squats in PE. tree →
• She squatted down to look at the snail. tree →
• The toad was squat and brown. tree →
• People were squatting in the empty building. tree →
• Keep your back straight when you squat. tree →
• He knows squat about football. (US slang) tree →
• The old lighthouse looked squat next to the hotel. tree →
• Matting was spread for him to squat on, and the best provisions set before him. tree →

Note

Spelling: squatted, squatting (double t). A person who squats in a building is a «squatter». The slang sense «squat» = nothing is informal, mostly American.