hustler
Americannoun
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hustlers
plural
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an enterprising person determined to succeed; go-getter.
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Slang. a person who employs fraudulent or unscrupulous methods to obtain money; swindler.
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Informal. an expert gambler or game player who seeks out challengers, especially unsuspecting amateur ones, in order to win money from them.
He earned his living as a pool hustler.
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Slang. a prostitute.
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a person who hustles.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hustler
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One thing to know: Timothée Chalamet stars as ping pong hustler Marty Mauser in this 1950s period piece from director Josh Safdie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
"She didn't come off as a hustler," notes one former classmate.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
And in Malcolm X, the complex street hustler turned Black nationalist firebrand worshipped by everyone from Stokely Carmichael to Clarence Thomas, Kendi believes he has the perfect subject for the moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025
“We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another crappy real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” he said.
From Salon ● May 29, 2024
Kicked out of Small’s, the hustler paradise incarnate, for hustling?
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
But the pair are just the latest in the long line of hustlers, fraudsters and canny opportunists who have been working to undermine science in this country for more than a century.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Mr. McGuane’s hapless heroes are local politicians, insurance salesmen, small-town lawyers and other workaday hustlers intent on “getting somewhere among people going nowhere.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
But the opportunity to profit from advertising revenue and sponsorship money has also attracted side hustlers just like Jordan, who hope to generate income outside their full-time jobs.
From Slate ● Mar. 14, 2025
As hip-hop rose from the streets to the mainstream in the 90s, the rappers and hustlers that broke through had few role models who had trodden that path before them.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2024
And the steady customers in both places, the hustlers in Small’s and the entertainers in the Braddock, began to call me “Red,” a natural enough nickname in view of my bright red conk.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
