1
as in struggled
to devote serious and sustained effort
everyone really hustled to get the project finished on schedule
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hurried
to proceed or move quickly
we'd better hustle, or we'll miss the train
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in squeezed
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
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Recent Examples of hustled
His attacker, the man in black, was hustled off the stage.
—
Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
As the lights came up, Taylor had already been hustled out, as had Arnaud.
—Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 7 Feb. 2026
Toronto hustled to a 14-point advantage before settling for a 32-24 lead after one quarter.
—Oc Register, 17 Jan. 2026
Fiala hustled back to block Eichel’s shot, but Eichel recovered it to find Stone on the doorstep for an uncontested winner.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
Then there’s the vehicle that Good was fatally shot in being hustled away on a flatbed truck.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2026
As a Canucks player carried the puck through the neutral zone, Zach Benson hustled back, lifted his stick and stole the puck before the offensive rush could even get started.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
My mother—an incredible single mom of four kids—just hustled.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 5 Dec. 2025
Maybury then hustled to a Quick Cash, a food pantry — where she was turned away — and an aid organization.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2025
Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
As the lights came up, Taylor had already been hustled out, as had Arnaud.
—Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 7 Feb. 2026
Toronto hustled to a 14-point advantage before settling for a 32-24 lead after one quarter.
—Oc Register, 17 Jan. 2026
Fiala hustled back to block Eichel’s shot, but Eichel recovered it to find Stone on the doorstep for an uncontested winner.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
Then there’s the vehicle that Good was fatally shot in being hustled away on a flatbed truck.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2026
As a Canucks player carried the puck through the neutral zone, Zach Benson hustled back, lifted his stick and stole the puck before the offensive rush could even get started.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
My mother—an incredible single mom of four kids—just hustled.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 5 Dec. 2025
Maybury then hustled to a Quick Cash, a food pantry — where she was turned away — and an aid organization.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hustled
Verb
-
The results showed that while standard chemical leaching struggled without gravity to move fluids, the microbes didn’t blink.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Feb. 2026
-
The passenger was able to exit the truck while the suspect, still armed with the knife, struggled with the driver.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In the wake of the killings of Renee Good and then Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, federal officials hurried to television cameras and social media accounts.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Immigration agents said Carlos would be transferred to Puerto Rico that very afternoon; Angela hurried back to their hotel.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In an ecosystem squeezed by the brutal economics of streaming and the continuing struggles of the theatrical model, far too many worthy films go unsold and unseen.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Tens of billions of dollars in corporate loans are likely to default over the next year as companies, especially software and data services firms owned by private equity, get squeezed by the AI threat, Mish said in a Wednesday research note.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
When the novel opens in Florence, in 1557, the body of the painter Jacopo da Pontormo lies in the chapel of San Lorenzo—in front of the frescoes he’d labored over for a decade, with a painter’s chisel stuck in his heart.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Aster didn’t micromanage as Tracy labored over the script and suffered a bout of COVID during lockdown.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The clatter of rising shutters echoed through the empty streets, the occasional rambler scurried past, along the walls, bundled tightly in his coat, women walked by with milk bottles tucked in shawls wrapped around their chests.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Tirado scurried to at least half a dozen bags before finding his and pulling out … pickle juice.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Over at Azur on Luminara, the menu reinvents itself every two days to mirror the port of call, like someone plucked the best taverna dishes off the coast and casually plated them in front of you.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
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This is ideal for decades of sliding across the ice, because bigger mineral grains are more likely to get plucked out by the ice, leaving holes in the surface that could cause unpredictable behavior.—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
More famously, Sven Marquardt, worked as a selector for Berghain for almost two decades.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The move to Connecticut came later, and Bessette also worked throughout her teen-age years.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The attacker sped away in a red Nissan Altima, but that was the only clue investigators had for several years.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Typically, lawyers said, the scheduling of cases is sped up either by attorneys working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or by the immigrants themselves.—
Ximena Bustillo,
NPR,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hustled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hustled. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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