scalp
Americannoun
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scalps
plural
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the integument of the upper part of the head, usually including the associated subcutaneous structures.
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a part of this integument with the accompanying hair, severed from the head of an enemy as a sign of victory, as by some North American Indians and others during the colonial and frontier periods in the U.S.
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any token of victory.
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the integument on the top of the head of an animal.
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Informal. a small profit made in quick buying and selling.
verb (used with object)
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scalps,
present (3rd person singular)
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scalped,
past participle, past
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scalping
present participle
-
to cut or tear the scalp from.
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Informal.
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to resell (tickets, merchandise, etc.) at higher than the official rates.
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to buy and sell (stocks) so as to make small quick profits.
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to plane down the surfaces of (an ingot, billet, or slab).
verb (used without object)
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scalps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scalped,
past participle, past
-
scalping
present participle
noun
-
anatomy the skin and subcutaneous tissue covering the top of the head
-
(among North American Indians) a part of this removed as a trophy from a slain enemy
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a trophy or token signifying conquest
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hunting a piece of hide cut from the head of a victim as a trophy or as proof of killing in order to collect a bounty
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informal a small speculative profit taken in quick transactions
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dialect a projection of bare rock from vegetation
verb
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to cut the scalp from
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informal to purchase and resell (securities) quickly so as to make several small profits
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informal to buy (tickets) cheaply and resell at an inflated price
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scalpsimple
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scalpssimple
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have scalpedperfect
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has scalpedperfect
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am scalpingprogressive
-
are scalpingprogressive
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is scalpingprogressive
-
have been scalpingperfect progressive
-
has been scalpingperfect progressive
Past
-
scalpedsimple
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had scalpedperfect
-
was scalpingprogressive
-
were scalpingprogressive
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had been scalpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scalp
1250–1300; Middle English (north) (noun), perhaps < Old Norse skālpr sheath (hence, metaphorically a covering)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
PRP therapy, a buzzy treatment involving needle injections into the scalp, can be administered on a lunch break.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
The test uses small, metal probes called electrodes that touch the scalp.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
In the case of Polygonum multiflorum, centuries of use are now being examined through the lens of hormone biology, cell survival, growth signaling, and scalp circulation.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 7, 2026
His uniform and scalp were lined with glistening rivulets of oil, water, soot and sweat.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
She had spent the night imagining what she would do in Lexie’s situation, every time feeling that flash of panic surge through her again from her scalp to the soles of her feet.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
In a recent study, researchers placed electrodes across the scalps of sedated patients, capturing their brain-wave data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
State laws restricting private-equity involvement in the medical sector have taken their first scalps, as authorities signal an aggressive approach to enforcement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Qarabag had taken the scalps of Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt in the league phase to make the play-off round and at least salvaged some pride with two goals in the second period.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
She also finished as The Hundred's leading wicket-taker with 19 scalps in nine matches.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
Pinned with numbers from the Giulia's manifest, they’d filed past a line of health inspectors who’d looked in their eyes and ears, rubbed their scalps, and flipped their eyelids inside out with buttonhooks.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
“In fact, the exhibitors set the price and, frankly, with tickets at Lincoln Square being scalped for $1,000, I think there’s room to move up the prices for a film.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Spain scalped France - they flattened France," said former Premier League champion Chris Sutton, who was at the game for BBC Radio 5 Live.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
“This worthy president,” retorted Biddle in 1834, “thinks that because he has scalped Indians and imprisoned judges, he is to have his way with the Bank. He is mistaken.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
The final showing was so popular that tickets were scalped, and the film won the festival’s first-ever audience award.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2019
But I was no longer a boxing fan, since that incident years ago, so when Uncle Pietrus, a boxing fanatic, obtained two scalped tickets and invited me along, I refused.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
On the scalping site StubHub, tickets for the BTS shows in Mexico are going for as much as $13,000.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
Washington’s intention to wage a humane and gentlemanly war for American independence was subsumed by proliferating mayhem, especially on the remote frontiers, where practices such as scalping were well established.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Hit products generate the kind of buzz you might see only for a limited-edition sneaker or the latest iPhone, necessitating preorders or, when inventories inevitably dry up, leading to scalping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
The events have sparked a conversation around ticket scalping in India, where people use bots or automation tools to bypass queues and purchase multiple tickets to sell on reselling platforms.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2024
Tell everybody, when you write your story, that they’re scalping our souls out here.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
