busker

American  

[buhs-ker] / ˈbʌs kər /

noun

1. someone who performs on the street or in a public place, especially for money.

   Buskers staked out small areas on the boardwalk to serenade the crowd with old-fashioned favorites and newfangled hits.

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Etymology

Origin of busker

busk ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

She typically charges customers $60 for a photo, and even with the Strip steadily growing more expensive—when a snapshot with a busker costs roughly the same as a burger and beer—her financial model has broken.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

On the other side, a busker sang “Piano Man” by Billy Joel in perfect English.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

I’m on a low rung of the ladder, just above busker.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2023

Ahead of the show they walked around together and were asked by a busker to sing a song.

From BBC • May 27, 2023

On The Best of Donahue the studio audience watched a clip from a film in which a black busker was singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in a subway station.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy