side hustle

noun

variants or less commonly side-hustle

ˈsīd-ˌhə-səl 

plural side hustles also side-hustles

: work performed for income supplementary to one's primary job

These days, lots of people have a side hustle to help them earn extra income, develop new skills, become a business owner and quit their day job.

—Kitsap Sun

The best part of using a blog as a side hustle is the work you put in now will continue to pay off well into the future.

—Emory Wheel (Emory University)

Want to learn a new skill you've had your eyes on for quite some time? Or perhaps you want to take up a new hobby that you can eventually turn into a side hustle?

—Jan Cortes

We all know that millennials love a good side hustle—to fuel both their passions and their wallets.

—Alissa Carpenter

Examples of side hustle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ecommerce remains one of the most accessible paths into a side hustle. — Sarah Hernholm, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Johnson is currently working on another small Canadian film, a true-story caper about a Vice editor’s side hustle as a drug-mule recruiter with Finn Wolfhard slated for the lead. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026

What began as a niche community for resellers has evolved into something closer to an information business, reflecting a broader shift in how Americans are building side hustles. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 29 July 2026

Some start side hustles out of their dorm room, convince their company to sponsor an advanced degree or apply to hundreds of scholarships. — Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 24 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for side hustle

• mofussil
• bustle
• muscle
• mussel
• russel
• rustle
• trussell
• tussle