hustle

American  

[huhs-uhl] / ˈhʌs əl /

verb (used without object)

hustles, present (3rd person singular) hustled, past participle, past hustling present participle

1. to proceed or work rapidly or energetically.

   The sisters hustled about, putting the house in order.

2. to push or force one's way; jostle or shove.

3. to be aggressive, especially in business or other financial dealings.

4. Slang. to earn one's living by illicit or unethical means.

5. Slang. (of a prostitute) to solicit clients.

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verb (used with object)

hustles, present (3rd person singular) hustled, past participle, past hustling present participle

1. to convey or cause to move, especially to leave, roughly or hurriedly.

   His bodyguards hustled him out of the court past policemen and paramilitary soldiers.

2. to urge, prod, or speed up.

   Hustle your work along.

3. to pressure or coerce (a person) to buy or do something.

   Our waiter hustled us into ordering more than we could eat.

4. to obtain by aggressive and often illicit means.

   He could always hustle a buck or two from some sucker.

5. to beg; solicit.

6. to sell in or work (an area), especially by high-pressure tactics.

   The souvenir vendors began hustling the town at dawn.

7. to sell, promote, or publicize in a lively, vigorous, or aggressive manner.

   to hustle souvenirs.

8. to jostle, push, or shove roughly.

9. Slang. to induce (someone) to gamble or to promote (a gambling game) when the odds of winning are overwhelmingly in one's own favor.

10. Slang. to cheat; swindle.

    They hustled him out of his savings.

11. Slang.

    1. (of a prostitute) to solicit (someone).

    2. to attempt to persuade (someone) to have sexual relations.

noun

hustles plural

1. energetic activity, as in work.

2. discourteous shoving, pushing, or jostling.

3. Slang.

   1. an inducing by fraud, pressure, or deception, especially of inexperienced or uninformed persons, to buy something, participate in an illicit scheme or dishonest gambling game, etc.

   2. such a product, scheme, gambling game, etc.

4. Slang. a competitive struggle.

   Why not take a break from the hustle to find a place where the tranquility of nature frees your mind to do its most innovative thinking.

5. Slang. any means of earning a living; a paid job or occupation.

   The university denied him tenure, so I guess he has to find a new hustle.

6. a fast, lively, popular ballroom dance evolving from Latin American, swing, rock, and disco dance styles, with a strong basic rhythm and simple step pattern augmented by strenuous turns, breaks, etc.

hustle British  

/ ˈhʌsəl /

verb

1. to shove or crowd (someone) roughly

2. to move or cause to move hurriedly or furtively

   he hustled her out of sight

3. (tr) to deal with or cause to proceed hurriedly

   to hustle legislation through

4. slang to earn or obtain (something) forcefully

5. slang (of procurers and prostitutes) to solicit

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noun

1. an instance of hustling

2. undue activity

3. a disco dance of the 1970s

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hustler
  noun
• unhustled
  adjective
• unhustling
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hustles
  plural

Participles

• hustling
  present
• hustled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hustle
  simple
• hustles
  simple
• have hustled
  perfect
• has hustled
  perfect
• am hustling
  progressive
• are hustling
  progressive
• is hustling
  progressive
• have been hustling
  perfect progressive
• has been hustling
  perfect progressive

Past

• hustled
  simple
• had hustled
  perfect
• was hustling
  progressive
• were hustling
  progressive
• had been hustling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hustle
  simple
• will have hustled
  perfect
• will be hustling
  progressive
• will have been hustling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hustle

First recorded in 1675–85; from Dutch husselen, hutselen “to shake, toss,” equivalent to hutsen “to shake” + -el- frequentative suffix; cf. -le

Explanation

To hustle something means to hurriedly push it along. If you overslept, you'll have to hustle out of the house to get to work on time. Hustle comes from the Dutch word for "shake" or "toss." As a noun, a hustle is a busy, hurried scene, like the hustle of the subway at rush hour. We also call the act of swindling a hustle, because it happens so fast. As a verb, hustle can either mean to swindle someone or to hurry them, or to work hard. You can hustle someone out the door. If you hustle, you can earn good tips as a waiter.

Example Sentences

"My side hustle turned into a successful business and a store - and putting me through university," Eleri said.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026

I wrote recently about scammers who steal recruiters’ identities to hustle job seekers out of money or personal information.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Store employees don’t get paid enough to hustle and, frankly, I don’t want them to.

From Salon • May 22, 2026

But financial constraints, inconsistent support systems and limited access to global markets remain, albeit in different forms — and the creative hustle of that defining era is still as important as ever.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

All that matters to me right now is getting to the bottom of the Three-Card Monte hustle.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Related Words

• rush