English Explanatory Dictionary

hustle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To push someone roughly; to crowd; to jostle.
  2. To rush or hurry.
  3. To bundle; to stow something quickly.
  4. To con, swindle, or deceive, especially financially.
  5. To play deliberately badly at a game or sport in an attempt to encourage players to challenge one.
  6. To obtain by illicit or forceful action.
  7. To sell sex; to work as a pimp.
  8. To be a prostitute; to exchange use of one's body for sexual purposes for money.
  9. To serve (a clientele) as a prostitute.
  10. To dance the hustle, a disco dance.
  11. To work.
  12. To put a lot of effort into one's work.
noun
  1. A state of busy activity.
  2. A propensity to work hard and get things done; ability to hustle.
  3. A type of disco dance, commonly danced to the Van McCoy song The Hustle (1975).
  4. A scam or swindle.
  5. An activity, such as prostitution or reselling stolen items, that a prisoner uses to earn money in prison.
  6. An act of prostitution.
  7. An activity, especially to achieve a desired goal or make money.

Pronunciation

/ˈhʌsəl/ en-us-hustle.ogg

Word forms

hustle hustles hustling hustled

Etymology

From Dutch husselen or by metathesis from Dutch hutselen (“to shake up”), a frequentative of hutsen (“to stir, to move something (back and forth)”).

Synonyms

make tracks swindle turn tricks fly defraud pimp sell one's body labor

Derived words

hustlee hustle up outhustle unhustled unhustling ear hustle hustle alarm hustle and bustle hustle-bustle hustle kingdom hustler hustly on the hustle side hustle

Translations

Bulgarian: бързане Catalan: tràfec Finnish: kiire Finnish: hoppu French: bousculade French: agitation French: cohue Galician: bulicio German: Hast German: Hektik German: Hetze German: Eile Hebrew: המולה Italian: fretta Italian: spinta Italian: trambusto Italian: andirivieni Polish: bieganina Russian: спе́шка Russian: суета́ Russian: су́толока Russian: толкотня́ Spanish: bullicio Spanish: ajetreo Spanish: correcorre Spanish: corredera Spanish: corre corre Ottoman Turkish: قیزغینلق
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