hustler

American  

[huhs-ler] / ˈhʌs lər /

noun

1. an enterprising person determined to succeed; go-getter.

2. Slang. a person who employs fraudulent or unscrupulous methods to obtain money; swindler.

3. 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.

4. Slang. a prostitute.

5. a person who hustles.

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Etymology

Origin of hustler

First recorded in 1815–25; hustle + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Silverblatt spent his entire career at S&P, a rarity among restless Wall Street hustlers who often flit between companies to climb the corporate ladder.

From The Wall Street Journal

Joshua said the trio formed a close bond and were living together, adding: "We became business partners. We became hustlers. We became lieutenants. We became generals. We became everything."

From BBC

"She didn't come off as a hustler," notes one former classmate.

From BBC

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

“The cunning they used to survive a hustler’s childhood,” Ms. Collinsworth observes, “had become a streak of ruthlessness in their adulthood.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• call girl
• swindler
• whore