hustle

[ huhs-uhl ]

/ ˈhʌs əl /

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See synonyms for: hustle / hustling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), hus·tled, hus·tling.

to proceed or work rapidly or energetically: The sisters hustled about, putting the house in order.

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

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

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

Slang. (of a prostitute) to solicit clients.

verb (used with object), hus·tled, hus·tling.

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.

to urge, prod, or speed up: Hustle your work along.

to pressure or coerce (a person) to buy or do something: Our waiter hustled us into ordering more than we could eat.

to obtain by aggressive and often illicit means: He could always hustle a buck or two from some sucker.

to beg; solicit.

to sell in or work (an area), especially by high-pressure tactics: The souvenir vendors began hustling the town at dawn.

to sell, promote, or publicize in a lively, vigorous, or aggressive manner: to hustle souvenirs.

to jostle, push, or shove roughly.

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

Slang. to cheat; swindle: They hustled him out of his savings.

Slang.

(of a prostitute) to solicit (someone).
to attempt to persuade (someone) to have sexual relations.

noun

energetic activity, as in work.

discourteous shoving, pushing, or jostling.

Slang.

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

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.

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.

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.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM hustle

out·hus·tle, verb (used with object), out·hus·tled, out·hus·tling.un·hus·tled, adjectiveun·hus·tling, adjective

Words nearby hustle

Hussein, Saddam, Husserl, Hussite, hussy, hustings, hustle, hustler, hustle up, Huston, hut, hutch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hustle in a sentence

The hustle and desire to expand eventually led him to seek out his own space in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle.
Eric Rivera Is Playing the Game|Alberto Perez|October 1, 2020|Eater
He was someone who could do a hustle and a scam just below the radar of getting law enforcement over the hump to care.
“People want to believe”: How Love Fraud builds an absorbing docuseries around a romantic con man|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
At Directive, Izabelle combines her sales hustle mentality and creative writing expertise to cover a wide variety of SaaS marketing topics and support long-term marketing strategy.
Five content promotion strategies SaaS marketers should implement today|Izabelle Hundrev|August 28, 2020|Search Engine Watch
What started as a side hustle — selling baked goods — turned into a full-time business in 2019.
A domino effect: How USPS delays may hurt e-commerce startups|Anna Hensel|August 14, 2020|Digiday

Michelle Lovero-Holliday has taken a step back from the hustle of delivering groceries.
Covid-19 is exposing the inequality of mental health care access for essential workers|Michelle Cheng|July 5, 2020|Quartz
If nobody on the outside will send Teresa money, should she learn a prison hustle?
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The bar starts to get busy and the bartenders, two of whom are wearing Casa Bruja T-shirts, begin to really hustle.
House of the Witch: The Renegade Craft Brewers of Panama|Jeff Campagna|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her hustle has started to pay off and she started a 14-date national tour in early November.
From Church of Christ to Pansexual Rapper|Tyler Gillespie|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Halfway to the park, the hustle of Goma and outlying villages faded behind him.
A Belgian Prince, Gorillas, Guerrillas & the Future of the Congo|Nina Strochlic|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Summer vacations should offer a hiatus from the hustle but at the Hamptons everyone is selling or pushing someone or something.
The Hell of the Hamptons: Why the Exclusive Hotspot Is a Mind-Numbing Drag|Robert Gold|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If we hustle right smart we can get a pen done 'fore dark, let alone gettin' them cattle into a shed.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
You know Ive run the engine attached to The Hustle many a time; the men used to let me do it.
Those Dale Girls|Frank Weston Carruth
The tall Schree warriors, their long faces expressionless, started to hustle the three captives toward the door again.
Valley of the Croen|Lee Tarbell
I know pretty well when Christmas is comin', by the way I got to hustle, an' the size of the boxes I got to carry.
Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays|Various
I want you to hustle back to the hotel and tell Frank that I'm here.
Frank Merriwell's Pursuit|Burt L. Standish

British Dictionary definitions for hustle

hustle

/ (ˈhʌsəl) /

verb

to shove or crowd (someone) roughly

to move or cause to move hurriedly or furtivelyhe hustled her out of sight

(tr) to deal with or cause to proceed hurriedlyto hustle legislation through

slang to earn or obtain (something) forcefully

US and Canadian slang (of procurers and prostitutes) to solicit

noun

an instance of hustling

undue activity

a disco dance of the 1970s

Derived forms of hustle

hustler, noun

Word Origin for hustle

C17: from Dutch husselen to shake, from Middle Dutch hutsen

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

hustle

Origin of hustle

OTHER WORDS FROM hustle

Words nearby hustle

Words related to hustle

How to use hustle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hustle

Derived forms of hustle

Word Origin for hustle