A squatter is someone who lives in a building or on land without permission from the owner. The word comes from the action of squatting, which means sitting with your knees bent, but a squatter “sits” in a place that isn't theirs.

Throughout history, squatters have occupied empty houses, abandoned buildings, or unused land. Sometimes people squat because they have nowhere else to go and the building seems abandoned. Other times, squatters move onto land they hope to eventually own. In the 1800s, American settlers were called squatters when they built homes on western land before the government officially opened it for settlement. Some of these squatters later gained legal rights to the land they had occupied.

Today, squatting creates complicated situations. Property owners usually want squatters removed because it's their building or land. But in some places, if squatters live somewhere openly for many years without the owner objecting, they might gain legal rights to stay.

The word can also describe someone who settles somewhere temporarily, like when your little brother squats in the good chair in the living room and refuses to move.