What does "squat" mean?

Squat: To sit down upon the hams or heels; as, the savages squatted near the fire.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To sit close to the ground; to cower; to stoop, or lie close, to escape observation, as a partridge or rabbit.
  2. 3.To settle on another's land without title; also, to settle on common or public lands.
  3. 4.To bruise or make flat by a fall. [Obs.]
  4. 5.Sitting on the hams or heels; sitting close to the ground; cowering; crouching. Him there they found, Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve. Milton.
  5. 6.Short and thick, like the figure of an animal squatting. "The round, squat turret." R. Browning. The head [of the squill insect] is broad and squat. Grew.
  6. 7.The posture of one that sits on his heels or hams, or close to the ground.
  7. 8.A sudden or crushing fall. [Obs.] erbert.
  8. 9.(Mining) (a) A small vein of ore. (b) A mineral consisting of tin ore and spar. Halliwell. Woodward. Squat snipe (Zoöl.), the jacksnipe; -- called also squatter. [Local, U.S.]

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