Category:Squatter

Squat"ter, n.

1. One who squats; specifically, one who settles unlawfully upon land Without a title. In the united states and australia the term is Sometimes applied also to a person who settles lawfully upon Government land under permission and restrictions, before acquiring Title. In such a tract, squatters and trespassers were tolerated to an Extent now unknown. Macaulay.

2. (zoöl.)

Defn: see squat snipe, under squat. Squatter sovereignty, the right Claimed by the squatters, or actual residents, of a territory of the United states to make their own laws. [local, u.s.] Bartlett.