as in crouching
to lie low with the limbs close to the body
a detective squatting to examine something on the ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of squatting
Vonn disclosed the injury a day after posting a video of herself squatting with a barbell in the gym.
—
Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
The man filming later walks into the parking lot, where body after body has been laid out on the asphalt with family members either standing or squatting nearby.
—Marin Scott, NBC news, 14 Jan. 2026
Ziani’s sessions require sitting in a squatting position throughout the process.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The measure also allows judges to issue summary judgments in clear squatting cases and tightens notice requirements, directing landlords to deliver eviction notices in ways likely to ensure occupants actually receive them, such as direct delivery or posting notices in visible places.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 30 Dec. 2025
When the home’s white former tenants vacate, Jimmie moves out of his friend’s apartment in a low-income neighborhood that’s built on toxic waste and begins squatting.
—Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 7 Nov. 2025
Maintaining the tugboat became cumbersome, and three Zizian members opted to move into box trucks before squatting in a Bay Area trailer lot owned by Curtis Lind, then age 80, a former shipworker and grandfather of four.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
His income is uncertain, and he’s been living with Bennett, a younger drinking buddy who, in turn, is basically squatting in his dead aunt’s apartment.
—Willing Davidson, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
And, that there was a goblin, squatting in my skull, rattling a metal pail full of bolts and hissing failure, rot, spoil.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
The man filming later walks into the parking lot, where body after body has been laid out on the asphalt with family members either standing or squatting nearby.
—Marin Scott, NBC news, 14 Jan. 2026
Ziani’s sessions require sitting in a squatting position throughout the process.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The measure also allows judges to issue summary judgments in clear squatting cases and tightens notice requirements, directing landlords to deliver eviction notices in ways likely to ensure occupants actually receive them, such as direct delivery or posting notices in visible places.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 30 Dec. 2025
When the home’s white former tenants vacate, Jimmie moves out of his friend’s apartment in a low-income neighborhood that’s built on toxic waste and begins squatting.
—Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 7 Nov. 2025
Maintaining the tugboat became cumbersome, and three Zizian members opted to move into box trucks before squatting in a Bay Area trailer lot owned by Curtis Lind, then age 80, a former shipworker and grandfather of four.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
His income is uncertain, and he’s been living with Bennett, a younger drinking buddy who, in turn, is basically squatting in his dead aunt’s apartment.
—Willing Davidson, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
And, that there was a goblin, squatting in my skull, rattling a metal pail full of bolts and hissing failure, rot, spoil.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squatting
crouching
Verb
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There, detectives observed the men walking into an open space, crouching in nearby bushes and then fleeing the area at a high rate of speed in a vehicle, police said.—
Sydney Barragan,
Oc Register,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The now-viral surveillance footage shows a man crouching behind a gray van across the street from a gas station where Ampatuan was pulling in.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squatting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squatting. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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