1
as in rush
excited and often showy or disorderly speed enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the holiday season
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Relevance
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2
as in ambition
readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity with his characteristic hustle, he had all the plans for the conference lined up in a matter of days
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3
as in scam
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value a clever hustle that tricked people into revealing their bank account information
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1
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort everyone really hustled to get the project finished on schedule
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2
as in to speed
to proceed or move quickly we'd better hustle, or we'll miss the train
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3
as in to pluck
to rob by the use of trickery or threats a swindler who hustled cashiers by getting them all confused while they were making change
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hustle
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2026 This is a good spot to decompress between the morning hustle and the evening ahead. —Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026 The dads and sons hustled to a nearby dirt patch. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hustle
Noun
Many of these statements seem more like ‘hustles’ or ‘pitches’ than attempts to speak thoughtfully about the future. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2026 This is a good spot to decompress between the morning hustle and the evening ahead. —Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Verb
Also in that story is a look at how the Padres catchers are balancing their offensive and defensive duties, and Jeff hustled out to the box seats atop the Green Monster to talk to the Padres fan who caught Machado’s homer. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026 The dads and sons hustled to a nearby dirt patch. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hustle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hustle
Noun
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The Jets need immediate pass rush help, and Reese gives them versatility from his off-ball experience paired with his pass-rush ability at Ohio State.— Nick Harris April 20, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2026
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If staying put, Faulk would help get back some pass rush lost with Bradley Chubb’s departure.— Kenny Rosarion, Sun Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Set in the late 1990s, the pic based on Gavin Bain’s autobiography of the same name (later reissued as Straight Outta Scotland) follows Bain and Billy Boyd, aspiring musicians whose ambitions were dismissed because of their Scottish accents.— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2026
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Four years have passed since Villa first outlined their ambitions to press ahead with a stadium rebuild.— Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, has pledged to remove imposter accounts tied to scams that were recently flagged by the Manhattan district attorney's office, following a phone call between the two parties this week, the DA's office told ABC News Friday.— Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
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DeviantArt’s Protect feature uses state-of-the-art image recognition to help safeguard creators’ work against unauthorized use, and the platform employs a dedicated team to investigate and mitigate the impact from spam, scams, fraud, and other bad actors.— The Editors of ARTnews, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Niners have struggled with consistency from their wide receivers, largely due to injuries.— Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
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The plant, which was the state’s largest maker of panelized components, struggled under the weight of reduced demand because of higher interest rates and fluctuating lumber costs.— Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In Michigan City along the lakefront, a new second track speeds up travel time to Chicago, and plans call for a $300 million luxury hotel and townhouse development to transform the city into a commuter and tourist destination.— Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2026
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The British Army and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) have completed a multi-week test in Essex using drones, advanced sensors, and AI to speed up and make safer the hunt for deadly mines and munitions scattered on battlefields.— David Szondy April 11, New Atlas, 11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Then in 2013, she was plucked from the pros to take on an even dicier enterprise, a new Big East, a basketball-centric conference in a college landscape dominated by football schools and power conferences.— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
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Although Turner might have been open for a second, quarterback Cade Klubnik threw the ball high and late, allowing Delane to abandon his zonee anad pluck the ball out of the air.— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch, McDavid’s former junior coach, has accumulated playoff seasoning in a hurry himself.— Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
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If the ping-pong balls bounce its way, the chance to draft AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer would change the temperature of the rebuild in a hurry.— C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This article is part of The Times’ early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5.— Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
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On the occasion of Earth Day and Jane Goodall’s birthday, Vital Impacts has created a collection of images for purchase, with proceeds going to initiatives that support youth environmental education.— PhotoVogue, Vogue, 22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hustle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/hustle. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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