hustle

Plural: hustles

Noun

a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
a rapid active commotion
A state of busy activity.
A propensity to work hard and get things done; ability to hustle.
A type of disco dance, commonly danced to the Van McCoy song The Hustle (1975).
A scam or swindle.
An activity, such as prostitution or reselling stolen items, that a prisoner uses to earn money in prison.
An act of prostitution.
An activity, especially to achieve a desired goal or make money.

Verb

Verb Forms: hustled, hustling, hustles

To move or work quickly and energetically; to urge.
cause to move furtively and hurriedly
- "The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater"
move or cause to move energetically or busily
sell something to or obtain something from by energetic and especially underhanded activity
get by trying hard
- "she hustled a free lunch from the waiter"
pressure or urge someone into an action
To push someone roughly; to crowd; to jostle.
To rush or hurry.
To bundle; to stow something quickly.
To con, swindle, or deceive, especially financially.
To play deliberately badly at a game or sport in an attempt to encourage players to challenge one.
To obtain by illicit or forceful action.
To sell sex; to work as a pimp.
To be a prostitute; to exchange use of one's body for sexual purposes for money.
To serve (a clientele) as a prostitute.
To dance the hustle, a disco dance.
To work.
To put a lot of effort into one's work.

Examples

Everybody's got a hustle.
He tried to hustle his brain into finding a seven-letter word before the timer ran out.
I'll have to hustle to get there on time.
The guy tried to hustle me into buying into a bogus real estate deal.

Origin / 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

ado, bunco, bunco game, bunko, bunko game, bustle, bustle about, con, con game, confidence game, confidence trick, flimflam, flurry, fuss, gyp, pluck, roll, sting, stir, deceive, defraud, fly, labor, make tracks, pimp, pimp out, prostitute oneself, rush, sell one's body, swindle, turn tricks

Scrabble Score: 9

hustle: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
hustle: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hustle: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

hustle: valid Words With Friends Word