hustler

noun

hus·​tler ˈhə-slər 

plural hustlers

: a person who hustles: such as

a

: one who obtains money by fraud or deceit : scammer, swindler

A financial hustler who orchestrated the theft of $6.5 million from investors …

—Shayna Jacobs and Alec Tabak

… most of the eight major frauds Minkow helped uncover in the past year have involved hustlers trying to sell investments to church groups.

—Adam Zagorin

b

: one who lures less skillful players into competing at a gambling game

a pool hustler

This is where the chess hustlers have seized their opportunity. Camped out at the picnic tables in Harvard Square, these seasoned locals will play with you—for a price.

—Evan Zigmond

c

: an athlete who plays with alert energy and aggressiveness

By always being the teacher's pet, by being a hustler in football practice and by being the fringe member of many social groups but the leader of none, Kelly managed to mask his insecurities.

—Michael Reese

d

: sex worker

a male hustler

"Beat" is old carny slang. According to Beat Movement legend … , Ginsberg and Kerouac picked it up from a character named Herbert Huncke, a gay street hustler and drug addict from Chicago who began hanging around Times Square in 1939 …

—Louis Menand

Synonyms

• bawd
• call girl
• cocotte
• courtesan
• drab
• hooker
• prostitute
• sex worker
• streetwalker
• tart
• whore

Examples of hustler in a Sentence

policemen kept the street clean of hustlers

the ad for the sales job claims that for someone who's a real hustler, the sky's the limit

Recent Examples on the Web

Glover furthered his success as Duffy in 1974's Chinatown and hustler James Coburn in 1975's Hard Times. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 30 Mar. 2025

In fact, recent research from a TurboTax (Intuit) study shows that the majority of side hustlers earn less than $1,000 each month. —Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025

The story turns on a Neapolitan hustler who inherits a remote estate in Finnish Lapland. —Annika Pham, Variety, 24 Mar. 2025

With more employers calling workers back to the office, some of these side hustlers are instead doubling down on those businesses. —Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above