huckster

American  

[huhk-ster] / ˈhʌk stər /

noun

1. a retailer of small articles, especially a peddler of fruits and vegetables; hawker.

2. a person who employs showy methods to effect a sale, win votes, etc..

   the crass methods of political hucksters.

3. a cheaply mercenary person.

4. Informal.

   1. a persuasive and aggressive salesperson.

   2. a person who works in the advertising industry, especially one who prepares aggressive advertising for radio and television.

---

verb (used with or without object)

1. to deal, as in small articles, or to make petty bargains.

   to huckster fresh corn; to huckster for a living.

2. to sell or promote in an aggressive and flashy manner.

huckster British  

/ ˈhʌkstə /

noun

1. a person who uses aggressive or questionable methods of selling

2. rare a person who sells small articles or fruit in the street

3. a person who writes for radio or television advertisements

---

verb

1. (tr) to peddle

2. (tr) to sell or advertise aggressively or questionably

3. to haggle (over)

Other Word Forms

• hucksterish adjective
• hucksterism noun

Etymology

Origin of huckster

1150–1200; Middle English huccstere (perhaps cognate with Middle Dutch hokester ), equivalent to hucc- haggle (cognate with dialectal German hucken to huckster) + -stere -ster

Example Sentences

Lon Chaney plays a huckster circus performer who pretends to have no arms.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2025

It turned out that Neumann was a world-class huckster and the company couldn’t justify such a big valuation, and WeWork aborted the IPO.

From Slate • Nov. 8, 2023

He is the maximum huckster, in the tradition of American hucksterism.

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2023

The musical, which finds laughs in a worrisome alliance between a hick and a huckster, features a score by a pair of well-regarded Nashville songwriters: Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally.

From New York Times • Nov. 14, 2022

I became a huckster like the ones that had fascinated me.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli