hustle

/ˈhʌsəl/

//ˈhʌsəl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hustle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hustle” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,232. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,232
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To push someone roughly; to crowd; to jostle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hustle · hustle · English

hustle · rank #11,232 · 9 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,232
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hugs

Nearest frequency peer: hugs (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hustle”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hustle” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hustle vs hustler
86% similar
hustle vs haste
67% similar
hustle vs humble
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hustle
PropertyValue
Headwordhustle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈhʌsəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,232
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hustle”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hustlelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hugs” (#11,231), “Hyde” (#11,233), “honoured” (#11,230). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hustle” is #11,232. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around hustle (IPA /ˈhʌsəl/), averb. Corpus frequency is #11,232 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for hustle, with forms such as "hhustle", "hsutle", and "huslte". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "hustler", "haste", "humble", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Dutch husselen or by metathesis from Dutch hutselen (“to shake up”), a frequentative of hutsen (“to stir, to move something (back and forth)”). The correct English form is hustle, spelled H-U-S-T-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To push someone roughly; to crowd; to jostle.
  2. 2
    To rush or hurry.
  3. 3
    To bundle; to stow something quickly.
  4. 4
    To con, swindle, or deceive, especially financially.
  5. 5
    To play deliberately badly at a game or sport in an attempt to encourage players to challenge one.
  6. 6
    To obtain by illicit or forceful action.
  7. 7
    To sell sex; to work as a pimp.
  8. 8
    To be a prostitute; to exchange use of one's body for sexual purposes for money.
  9. 9
    To serve (a clientele) as a prostitute.
  10. 10
    To dance the hustle, a disco dance.
  11. 11
    To work.
  12. 12
    To put a lot of effort into one's work.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hustle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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.
  2. I'll have to hustle to get there on time.

Etymology

From Dutch husselen or by metathesis from Dutch hutselen (“to shake up”), a frequentative of hutsen (“to stir, to move something (back and forth)”).

Synonyms

flymake tracksrushdefraudswindledeceivesell one's bodyturn tricksprostitute oneselfpimppimp outlabor

This word in other languages

darse prisa(Español)bousculer(Français)hetzen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhustle
  • hsutle
  • huslte
  • husstle
  • hustel
  • hustlle
  • husttle
  • hutsle
  • uhstle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hustle - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhustle1hsutle2huslte2husstle1hustel2hustlle1husttle1hutsle2
Edit distance from "hustle"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hustle"?
"hustle" is spelled H-U-S-T-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhʌsəl/.
What does "hustle" mean?
As a verb, "hustle" means: To push someone roughly; to crowd; to jostle.
What words are commonly confused with "hustle"?
"hustle" is commonly confused with "hustler", "haste", "humble". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hustle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hustle" is /ˈhʌsəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hustle"?
From Dutch husselen or by metathesis from Dutch hutselen (“to shake up”), a frequentative of hutsen (“to stir, to move something (back and forth)”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hustle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

haired#11,225jumper#11,240gravel#11,223grains#11,221

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

needles9 variantsdeploy9 variantsdaring9 variantsprairie9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list