squatter

American  

[skwot-er] / ˈskwɒt ər /

noun

• squatters
  plural

1. a person or thing that squats.

2. a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right, or payment of rent.

3. a person who settles on land under government regulation, in order to acquire title.

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squatter British  

/ ˈskwɒtə /

noun

1. a person who occupies property or land to which he has no legal title

2. 1. (formerly) a person who occupied a tract of land, esp pastoral land, as tenant of the Crown

   2. a farmer of sheep or cattle on a large scale

3. (in New Zealand) a 19th-century settler who took up large acreage on a Crown lease

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• squatterdom
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• squatters
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of squatter

First recorded in 1775–85; squat + -er ¹

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Explanation

A squatter is someone who lives on unoccupied land or in a vacant building without permission from the owner. Some squatters move into abandoned homes because they have nowhere else to live, while others are part of social movements that see squatting as a response to political and economic systems that have made housing inaccessible for many. While in some places it's a crime to be a squatter, other jurisdictions view squatting as a conflict between the squatter and the owner. An earlier definition of squatter was "settler who doesn't (yet) have a title to the land."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

squatter squatters

The device is squatter and wider than Samsung’s previous foldables.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Patent and Trademark Office, Tesla said Unibev was “a bad-faith trademark squatter, who started as a Tesla fan” and described the French company’s attempt to trademark the Cybercab moniker as fraudulent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026

She excelled on stage and screen in Alan Bennett’s “The Lady in the Van,” playing a crotchety squatter with an imperious sense of entitlement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2024

This was a squatter camp outside Johannesburg in 1994 as South Africa prepared to vote in its first non-racial elections.

From BBC ● May 25, 2024

“Built by a fellow, oh, twenty years ago,” said Pa. “He was a squatter who pitched a tent in the woods and built that outhouse.”

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

The vans belong to young Israeli squatters who play their own waiting game, smoking cigarettes and milling about.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

As cost of living pressures persist, a growing number of people are applying to become so-called property guardians - living in vacant residential or commercial buildings to protect them from squatters, vandalism and disrepair.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

A security guard stood in front of the cabana to stop any would-be squatters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

The trailers attracted squatters who converted the lot into a makeshift homeless encampment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2025

The squatters considered the Muscogee Nation to be the main barrier to their permanent settlement in the region, particularly Georgia.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

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Related Words

• settler

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