hustle

1 a scheme in which the victim is cheated out of his money after first gaining his trust finally got wise to his hustle and threatened to call the police

2 finally got wise to his hustle and threatened to call the police excited and often showy or disorderly speed the hustle and bustle of the holiday season Synonyms haste, hastiness, hurry, precipitation, precipitousness, rushRelated Words bustle, flurry, flutter, scurry, scuttle, stir, whirl; beeline, dash, scramble, stampede; hotheadedness, impetuosity, impetuousness, impulsiveness, impulsivity, rashness; expedition, expeditiousness, fastness, fleetness, quickness, rapidity, rapidness, speed, speediness, swiftness, velocity; celerity, dispatch, promptitude, promptnessNear Antonyms dilatoriness, lateness, pokiness, procrastination, slowness; languor, leisureliness, lethargy, sluggishness, torpor; dormancy, inaction, inactivity, inertia, inertness, quiescenceAntonyms deliberateness, deliberation

3 readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity with his characteristic hustle, he had everything lined up in two days Synonyms action, aggressiveness, ambition, drive, go, enterprise, initiativeRelated Words grit, gumption, pluck, snap, spirit, spunk, starch; ambitiousness, killer instinct, overambitiousness; assertiveness, self-reliance; energy, hardihood, pep, vigor, vitalityNear Antonyms inactivity, inertia, passivity; diffidence, faintheartedness, timidity; hesitation, reluctance; indolence, laziness, lethargy

4 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 Synonyms bunco (or bunko), con, fiddle [chiefly British], flimflam, gyp, fraud, scam, shell game, sting, swindleRelated Words cross, fix; Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme; racket, rip-off; thimblerig, three-card monte; device, dodge, gimmick, jig, ploy, scheme, sleight, stratagem, trick, wile; gouging, overcharging, soaking; counterfeit, fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham

1 to devote serious and sustained effort everyone really hustled to get the magazine out on schedule Synonyms bang away, beaver (away), dig (away), drudge, endeavor, fag, grub, hump, labor, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, slave, slog, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, tug, workRelated Words apply (oneself), buckle (down), dig in, hammer (away), knuckle down, pitch in; attack, drive; essay, try; exercise, exert, overexert, overwork; eke out, grind (out), put out, scrabble, scratch; trudge, wadeNear Antonyms break, ease (up), let up, slacken; bum, chill, dally, dillydally, footle, goldbrick, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk, slack (off), veg out; bask, loll, relax, repose, rest, unwind; dabble, doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang, hang about [British], mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle

2 to proceed or move quickly we'd better hustle, or we'll miss the train Synonyms barrel, belt, blast, blaze, blow, bolt, bomb [slang], bowl, breeze, bundle, bustle, buzz, cannonball, careen, career, chase, course, crack (on), dash, drive, fly, hare, hasten, hie, highball, hotfoot (it), hump, hurl, hurtle, hurry, jet, jump, motor, nip, pelt, race, ram, rip, rocket, run, rush, rustle, scoot, scurry, scuttle, shoot, speed, step, tear, travel, trot, whirl, whisk, zip, zoomRelated Words beetle, dart, flit, scamper, scud, scuffle; stampede, streak, whiz (or whizz); gallop, jog, sprint; accelerate, quicken, step out; catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake; arrow, beelineNear Antonyms dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, poke, tarry; amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll; decelerate, slow (down or up)Antonyms crawl, creep, poke

3 to rob by the use of trickery or threats a customer hustled the cashier by getting her all confused while she was making change Synonyms beat, bilk, bleed, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do, do in, euchre, fiddle, flimflam, gaff, gyp, hose [slang], fleece, mulct, nobble [British slang], pluck, ream, rip off, rook, screw, shake down, short, shortchange, skin, skunk, squeeze, stick, stiff, sting, sucker, swindle, thimblerig, victimizeRelated Words extort, wrench, wrest, wring; clip, gouge, nick, overcharge, soak; exploit, milk; deceive, dupe, fool, gull, trick; rope (in); betray, bitch, double-cross; bamboozle, fast-talk