HUSTLES Synonyms: 275 Similar and Opposite Words

hustles 1 of 2

noun

plural of hustle

as in scams

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 & Similar Words

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hustles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of hustle

as in struggles

to devote serious and sustained effort everyone really hustled to get the project finished on schedule

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in hurries

to proceed or move quickly we'd better hustle, or we'll miss the train

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in squeezes

to rob by the use of trickery or threats a swindler who hustled cashiers by getting them all confused while they were making change

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 hustles

Noun

Through schoolyard rivalries, neighborhood hustles, and family setbacks, Kev turns every disaster into a story. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026 Recruiting an ambitious protégé, a loyal driver, and a growing network of eccentric partners, Lee transforms small hustles into big business. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026 Recruiting an ambitious protégé, a loyal driver and a growing network of eccentric partners, Lee transforms small hustles into big business. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026 Of course, there are also age-old hustles so evidently dishonest that there was a time when their exponents risked being hung or shot. — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026 The area of law has always been ripe for fraud, but the hustles have evolved, getting more sophisticated in the past year. — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026 Khy may be one of Jenner's many hustles, but motherhood is her greatest joy. — Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 11 May 2026 Marty, who was loosely based on real-life ping-pong legend Marty Reisman, schemes his way to competitions across the globe and hustles for pocket cash. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Mar. 2026 Side hustles also encourage better time management and focus. — Sho Dewan, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Verb

Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles. — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 Despite concerns that chip stocks could be topping out as the industry hustles to boost supply, Wall Street thinks Micron still has plenty of room to run. — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 June 2026 In games like Tuesday, when that deep postseason run seems realistic, UCLA pops the ball around on offense and communicates and hustles to overcome its deficiencies on defense. — Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 6 Mar. 2026 Compared to the behemoth Acela, which hustles hundreds of thousands of riders between Boston, New York City, and Washington DC each month, Amtrak's Mardi Gras line is downright petite—just two 58-seat coaches, plus a café car and a 14-seat Business Class car. — Kara Newman, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Feb. 2026 Most notably, watch here as backup center Oso Ighodaro shuts down Jalen Brunson’s final attempt to tie the score, then Grayson Allen deflects his pass, hustles into the backcourt and banks it off Mikal Bridges’ face and out of bounds. — John Hollinger, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026 The pair goes out and hustles other players with a cunning ruse that relies on the era’s racial and ethnic divisions. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 Dec. 2025 The film keeps pace through toe-curlingly tense table tennis face-offs, high-stakes hustles, and a jaw-dropping scene involving a bathtub that honestly puts Saltburn to shame. — Anastasia Sanger, Glamour, 22 Dec. 2025 Families looking for the perfect holiday card shot drive photography hustles in November. — Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hustles

Noun

Authorities also obtained assistance from multiple banks and reviewed security camera footage, financial records and body camera footage from previous investigations involving similar scams.

— Sergio Candido, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
The other is a survey YouGov conducted for Google of some 4,500 smartphone users about their experiences with scams, which suggests iPhone users are more likely to get conned.

— Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of scams

Verb

As energy supply struggles to keep pace with demand, those delays have drawn political attention and, finally, action, including significant legislation passed at the state level and a new bipartisan permitting reform bill proposed in the Senate.

— Dr. Sarah Kapnick, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Toxic haze has covered parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for weeks as Jakarta struggles to contain fires that have scorched large tracts of Borneo and Sumatra, with the smoke drifting across the region.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of struggles

Verb

If someone hurries you, slow the exchange and name what feels good in your body, like sitting down before deciding on plans.

— Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 11 June 2026
Nix almost always hurries his throws when a blitz comes Harvey’s way, regardless of whether the rookie RB picks it up capably or not.

— Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 Dec. 2025

Definition of hurries

Verb

But as the Iran war squeezes Republicans ahead of the midterms, Democrats are aligning to call for the defense secretary’s ouster or resignation.

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026
That wrestling match itself, however, makes for compelling theater about as often as the camel squeezes through the needle.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Verb

Yet, this tense adventure makes a strong case that bad parents can still teach good lessons, even when a kid strives to live in opposition to their folks.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Katie strives to use catering companies that adhere to the teachings of the Make America Healthy Again movement, one regular guest says, which encourages the consumption of raw milk and the avoidance of seed oils.

— Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of strives

Verb

Inside Botánica Santo Tomas in Wilton Manors, store owner Héctor Giovanni Pizarro Santana sweeps the floor as his tiny Chihuahua, Bella, scurries behind him.

— Delia Sauer, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2026
Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, Alicent scurries the great halls, desperate to shore up support for her plan to hand Rhaenyra the Red Keep.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 June 2026

Definition of scurries

Verb

Trump sometimes plucks memes from a sprawling ecosystem of online conservative supporters, and sometimes his government staff produces them as part of their official messaging.

— Josh Boak, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Definition of plucks

Verb

Thoroughly unimpressed by her suburban idyll, and evidently unmoved by her responsibilities as wife and mother, Denise labors in her basement on a novel whose protagonist wishes to forsake her family for a life in New York.

— Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2026
Every man and woman who labors in the construction industry deserves that.

— Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 5 Mar. 2026

Definition of labors

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“Hustles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hustles. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hustles

noun

verb

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