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huckster

[ huhk-ster ]
/ ˈhʌk stər /
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See synonyms for: huckster / huckstered / huckstering on Thesaurus.com
noun
a retailer of small articles, especially a peddler of fruits and vegetables; hawker.
a person who employs showy methods to effect a sale, win votes, etc.: the crass methods of political hucksters.
a cheaply mercenary person.
Informal.
  1. a persuasive and aggressive salesperson.
  2. a person who works in the advertising industry, especially one who prepares aggressive advertising for radio and television.
verb (used with or without object)
to deal, as in small articles, or to make petty bargains: to huckster fresh corn; to huckster for a living.
to sell or promote in an aggressive and flashy manner.
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Origin of huckster

1150–1200; Middle English huccstere (perhaps cognate with Middle Dutch hokester), equivalent to hucc-haggle (cognate with dialectal German hucken to huckster) + -stere-ster

OTHER WORDS FROM huckster

huck·ster·ism, nounhuck·ster·ish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to huckster

costermonger, hawker, salesperson, seller, colporteur

How to use huckster in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for huckster

huckster
/ (ˈhʌkstə) /
noun
a person who uses aggressive or questionable methods of selling
rare a person who sells small articles or fruit in the street
US a person who writes for radio or television advertisements
verb
(tr) to peddle
(tr) to sell or advertise aggressively or questionably
to haggle (over)

Derived forms of huckster

hucksterism, noun

Word Origin for huckster

C12: perhaps from Middle Dutch hoekster, from hoeken to carry on the back
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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