Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who occupies land or property without legal right or title: A squatter is someone who settles on or uses land or a building that they do not own, rent, or have permission to use.
   • A person who lawfully settles on public land to eventually gain ownership: Historically, especially in the US and Australia, a squatter could be a settler who occupied government-owned land with the intention of eventually acquiring legal title to it.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The empty house was taken over by a squatter who changed the locks.
  • In the 19th century, many squatters moved westward to claim frontier lands.

Advanced Usage

• "Squatter's rights" or "adverse possession": A legal principle that may allow a squatter to gain legal ownership of land after occupying it continuously for a long period, under specific conditions.
  • After living there for 20 years, he claimed the property through squatter's rights.

Variants and Related Words

• Squat (verb): To occupy an unused building or land without permission.
  • They decided to squat in the abandoned factory.
• Squat (noun): An act of squatting; also a building occupied by squatters.
  • The old warehouse became a squat for artists.

Synonyms

• Illegal occupant: A person residing in a place without legal authority.
• Trespasser: Someone who enters or remains on property without permission.
• Homesteader (historical, for the second definition): A settler granted land under government programs.

Related Phrases

• Squatter settlement: An area, often in a city, inhabited by people who have built homes on land they do not own.
  • The city's population boom led to the growth of large squatter settlements.

Noun

1. someone who settles on land without right or title
2. someone who settles lawfully on government land with the intent to acquire title to it