squatter

/ˈskwɒtə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · [skwˈɑtɚ] /ˈskwɑːtər/ (ame, ipa) · [skwˈɑtɚ] /ˈskwä-tər/ (ame, mw)

squatter — 名詞

  • squattersingular
  • squattersplural

1. someone who moves into and stays in an empty house, apartment, or piece of land

1.名詞B2
釋義

擅自佔屋者

未經許可佔用空屋或土地的人

someone who moves into and stays in an empty house, apartment, or piece of land that does not belong to them, without having the legal right to be there

例句

Police removed a group of squatters from the abandoned warehouse on River Road this morning.

警方今天清晨將一群擅自佔屋者從河邊路上的廢棄倉庫驅離。

collocation: remove / evict squatters

The old hotel stood empty for years before squatters made it into a shelter.

那間舊飯店已經空置了五年，之後被擅自佔屋者改造成臨時避難所。

同義詞
  • trespasser

    stronger implication of criminal wrongdoing

  • illegal occupant

    more formal, often used in legal documents

  • occupier

    neutral term; does not necessarily mean the person is there without permission

反義詞
  • tenant

    someone who rents a property legally

  • landlord

    the legal owner of a property

用法筆記

Frequently appears in housing-policy and legal contexts. Some squatters occupy buildings as a form of protest or out of housing need rather than criminal intent. The term 'squatter' does not automatically imply a crime — the legal status depends on local property law.

常見錯誤

❌They are squatters who pay rent every month.
✅They are tenants who pay rent every month.
💡A squatter occupies a property without permission or payment; a tenant pays rent under a legal agreement.

2. a person in earlier centuries who settled on unowned or unclaimed land, especial

2.名詞C1
釋義

佔地墾荒者

歷史上佔用無主土地以求取得所有權的人

a person in earlier centuries who settled on unowned or unclaimed land, especially in North America or Australia, with the intention of eventually gaining legal ownership of it through occupation

例句

During the 1800s, squatters moved west across the American plains and built farms on land that had not been surveyed.

1800 年代，數千名佔地墾荒者向西越過美國平原，在尚未測量的土地上建造農場。

historical context: 1800s American frontier

Lucas's great-grandfather was a squatter who registered his land claim after fourteen years of farming.

Lucas 的曾祖父就是一名佔地墾荒者，他在同一塊土地上耕作了十四年之後才正式登記土地所有權。

同義詞
  • homesteader

    a settler who legally claimed land through government programmes, especially in the US

  • pioneer

    broader term for early settlers, not limited to those without legal title

  • settler

    general term for a person who moves to a new region to live and farm

用法筆記

This sense is primarily historical and refers to a specific practice of frontier settlement, especially in the United States, Australia, and South Africa during the 18th–19th centuries. In some cases these settlers later gained legal title through 'squatter's rights' laws.

常見錯誤

❌The modern squatter in London asked for a rental contract.
✅The modern squatter in London occupied the flat without permission.
💡Sense 2 is historical; for present-day unlawful occupation use sense 1.