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Meaning of SQUATTER

Pronunciation:  'skwâtur

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. [n]  someone who settles on land without right or title
  2. [n]  someone who settles lawfully on government land with the intent to acquire title to to it
 
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 Synonyms: homesteader, nester
 
 See Also: colonist, interloper, intruder, settler, trespasser

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
\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. (Zo["o]l.) 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.
 

 

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