Definition of "hustle"

hustle

/ˈhʌsəl/

verb
third-person singular simple present hustles, present participle hustling, simple past and past participle hustled
1. To push someone roughly; to crowd; to jostle.
  Quotations
  There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. […] Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the purser's office, under pretence of expecting letters or despatching telegrams.
  1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company
2. (intransitive) To rush or hurry.
  Quotations
  Men in dairy lunches were hustling to gulp down the food which cooks had hustled to fry
  1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 12, in Babbitt
3. (transitive) To bundle; to stow something quickly.
  Quotations
  There was a person called Nana who ruled the nursery. Sometimes she took no notice of the playthings lying about, and sometimes, for no reason whatever, she went swooping about like a great wind and hustled them away in cupboards.
  1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
4. (transitive) To con, swindle, or deceive, especially financially.
5. To play deliberately badly at a game or sport in an attempt to encourage players to challenge.
6. (informal) To obtain by illicit or forceful action.
7. (informal) To sell sex; to work as a pimp.
8. (informal) To be a prostitute; to exchange use of one's body for sexual purposes for money.
9. To dance the hustle, a disco dance.
10. (informal) To work.
11. (informal) To put a lot of effort into one's work.
noun
countable and uncountable, plural hustles
1. A state of busy activity.
2. A propensity to work hard and get things done; ability to hustle.
  Quotations
  'It's just natural for the folks here to be indolent,' she said. 'They just haven't got any hustle in them.'
  1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 26
3. (preceded by definite article) A type of disco dance, commonly danced to the Van McCoy song The Hustle.
4. A scam or swindle.
5. (prison slang) An activity, such as prostitution or reselling stolen items, that a prisoner uses to earn money in prison.
6. (slang) An act of prostitution.
  Quotations
  Little Joe never once gave it away / Everybody had to pay and pay / A hustle here and a hustle there / New York City's the place
  1972, Lou Reed (lyrics and music), “Walk on the Wild Side”
7. (informal) An activity, especially to achieve a desired goal or make money.