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Glite Dictionary
💃 A prostitute 🚀 A go-getter
hustler

hustler

33 7.6
A person who works hard and uses clever or dishonest ways to succeed
  • noun
  • /ˈhʌstlər/
  • Informal
translation icon : buscavidas
  • As a hustler in the real estate market, she always finds the best deals before anyone else.
  • a real hustler
  • bit of a hustler
  • entrepreneurs and hustlers

And depending on where you are in Africa, hustlers can even sell lightning.

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Examples

  • Being around someone who's such a hustler motivates me to be a hustler, too.

  • Is this somebody who I believe has conviction, is a hustler, you know, is going to overcome obstacles?

  • And he also was an entrepreneur and a hustler, OK.

    Ryan Pineda

  • I have always described myself as a hustler and I'm proud of that and fine with that.

  • He showed me what being a hustler was all about.

    Menace II Society (1993)

  • You're raising a real hustler here, Grace.

    Brothers (2009)

  • Among his many other talents, Modak was also known as the school hustler.

    That's What I Am (2011)

  • But I'm deeply fascinated by the hustlers mindset and thus I read everything.

  • When I would see, you know, the high rollers, the hustlers, I was like, oh, that's what I want.

  • The man who called himself Lavigerie was a French-Israeli of North African origin, a hustler in Fort-de-France.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

operator
vshustler
  • Offensive
34 6.9

A person who uses clever or unfair ways to get what they want

leans more on hard work and drive, not just rule-bending
moneymaker
vshustler
3 5.2

A person who earns a lot of money

emphasizes energetic drive and crafty methods, not only wealth creation
wheeler-dealer
vshustler
  • Informal
3 8.0

A person who makes deals using clever or dishonest methods

works energetically and resourcefully in many ways beyond deal-making
chancer
vshustler
  • Offensive
2 8.2

A person who takes risks to get ahead by ignoring rules or being dishonest

focuses more on steady effort and resourcefulness than risk-taking
slickster
vshustler
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who seems friendly but tricks others to get what they want

relies more on energetic effort and resourcefulness than only deceit
finagler
vshustler
  • Offensive
9.8

A person who gets things by tricking or lying to others

combines energetic hard work with resourcefulness rather than pure trickery

Antonyms

failure
  • Offensive
405 2.7

A person who does not succeed at things they try

slacker
  • Offensive
33 4.6

A person who avoids work and often does very little

How Driven

go-getter
16 5.0
hustler
  • Informal
33 7.6
opportunist
27 5.9
worker
600 1.0
slacker
  • Offensive
33 4.6

Surface Forms

hustler singular
hustlers plural

Morphology

hustler = hustle (transparent) = hustle + er

The agentive '-er' on 'hustle' yields 'one who hustles' (an energetic, resourceful person), a straightforward productive derivation learners can infer.

Etymology

Hustler also comes from the verb hustle, which could mean 'to move quickly', 'to work hard', and later 'to trick' someone. So a hustler can be an energetic, clever person who works hard to succeed, but it can also mean someone who uses dishonest tricks to get money.