# squat

> English word · Adjective · IPA /skwɒt/ · frequency rank #15,515

## Definitions
1. Relatively short or low, and thick or broad.
2. Sitting on one's heels; sitting close to the ground; cowering or crouching.

## Etymology
From Middle English squatten, from Old French esquatir, escatir (“compress, press down, lay flat, crush”), from es- (“ex-”) + quatir (“press down, flatten”), from Vulgar Latin *coactire (“press together, force”), from Latin coāctus, perfect passive participle of cōgō (“force together, compress”).
The sense “nothing” may be the source or a derivation of diddly-squat.

## Easily confused with
- **suit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-suit)
- **stat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-stat)
- **SWAT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-swat)
- **sweat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-sweat)
- **stunt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-stunt)
- **squid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-squid)
- **strat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-strat)
- **squaw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-squaw)
- **sturt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-sturt)
- **Stuart** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-stuart)
- **squirt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-squirt)
- **squeak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-squeak)
- **squeal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-squeal)
- **squint** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/squat-vs-squint)
- **sat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sat-vs-squat)
- **seat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seat-vs-squat)
- **shut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shut-vs-squat)
- **slut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slut-vs-squat)
- **spat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spat-vs-squat)
- **scat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scat-vs-squat)

## Common misspellings (7)
`qsuat`, `sqaut`, `sqquat`, `squatt`, `squta`, `ssquat`, `suqat`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/squat