hustler

[ huhs-ler ]

noun

1. an enterprising person determined to succeed; go-getter.
2. Slang. a person who employs fraudulent or unscrupulous methods to obtain money; swindler.
3. Informal. an expert gambler or game player who seeks out challengers, especially unsuspecting amateur ones, in order to win money from them:

   He earned his living as a pool hustler.

4. Slang. a prostitute.
5. a person who hustles.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hustler¹

First recorded in 1815–25; hustle + -er ¹

Example Sentences

So now I'm a writer and a hustler: coach, software entrepreneur, ghostwriter, teacher, juggler — my decision.

From Salon

Roberts dissolved into his character, a manipulative small-time hustler whose self-hatred metastasizes into murderous rage.

From Los Angeles Times

“All I did was make a statement on censorship,” she writes, noting that her comments were made at her parish public library and that she never mentioned her school library, “but people were posting like I was handing out copies of Hustler magazine at my school.”

From Los Angeles Times

“We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another crappy real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” he said.

From Salon

"We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler, masquerading as a big shot," De Niro said, describing the former president as a "two-bit playboy" who had been "lying his way into the tabloids."

From Salon

Related Words

• call girl
• swindler
• whore