hustle
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.
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.
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.
Origin of hustle
1Other words from hustle
- out·hus·tle, verb (used with object), out·hus·tled, out·hus·tling.
- un·hus·tled, adjective
- un·hus·tling, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hustle in a sentence
I have a generous magician friend who plays Santa as a holiday side hustle.
When my daughter asked if Santa was real, my answer was yes | Vanessa McGrady | December 17, 2020 | Washington PostAmy Kean, founder of creative agency Six Things Impossible, believes the ad industry’s hustle culture is to blame for the growing pressure to perform and be visible.
‘An unhealthy level of guilt’: Culture of presentism is making it harder to justify taking sick days | Jessica Davies | December 16, 2020 | DigidaySeeing the hustle and drive everyone had around me, I had no choice but to go harder.
Both plays required Metcalf’s rare athleticism and hustle, but also his athletic intelligence.
Seahawks star DK Metcalf is impossible to miss. So how did the NFL miss on him? | Adam Kilgore | November 6, 2020 | Washington PostOne of the things that we pride ourselves on here is respecting the hustle.
The others disappeared into the school, frantically hustling to try to make deals.
Rick Scott is over in Florida, and he is hustling business out of the state of Texas.
Like all “overnight” successes, Gelman has spent the better part of two decades hustling in all media.
Brett Gelman Has Dinner with Your Favorite TV Sidekicks | Rich Goldstein | April 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe air in Lagos is one of striving, of hustling and it is a city that very easily leaves you behind.
Privately, he had huge inhibitions about hustling, but he fought them down and sweated.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers | Nik Cohn | February 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe machines were soon hustling through Washington Street as fast as the speed regulations would allow.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsI believe Ill call the flat The Hustleonly instead of its hustling like the car, well be the ones.
Those Dale Girls | Frank Weston CarruthEven farming's got to be a science, and it keeps me hustling to learn what the new words mean in the agricultural papers.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith NicholsonShe is positively brisk in hustling for apples in the orchard and for heads of oats around the oat stack.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthurHe gen'rally stirred up the most of his touse In hustling to save the outside of the house.
The Book of Humorous Verse | Various
British Dictionary definitions for hustle
/ (ˈhʌsəl) /
to shove or crowd (someone) roughly
to move or cause to move hurriedly or furtively: he hustled her out of sight
(tr) to deal with or cause to proceed hurriedly: to hustle legislation through
slang to earn or obtain (something) forcefully
US and Canadian slang (of procurers and prostitutes) to solicit
an instance of hustling
undue activity
a disco dance of the 1970s
Origin of hustle
1Derived forms of hustle
- hustler, noun
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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