scalper

Noun

scalper (plural scalpers)

1. One who scalps, or removes the scalp of another.
   • Denouncing representations of hostile Indians as vicious scalpers of innocent settlers […]2013, M. Elise Marubbio, Eric L. Buffalohead, Native Americans on Film: Conversations, Teaching, and Theory
2. (Canada, US) One who scalps tickets to popular entertainment events: buying them in advance and then selling them (e.g. online or just outside the venue of the event), often at inflated prices.
   • We could see three different scalpers moving through the crowd outside the arena, each muttering the characteristic refrain: “Need any tickets?”
   • Although 4.1 million tickets were sold for the 2023 shows—including over 2 million on the first day, a new record—scalpers jacked up prices on the secondary market to more than $22,000.2023 December 6, Sam Lansky, “Person of Year 2023 : Taylor Swift”, in Time, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2023

   Synonyms:

   ticket tout

3. (broadly) One who scalps any other item with limited availability.
4. A gambler who scalps.
   • The only sure thing about scalping the Series today is that the scalper is paying the bookie a greater profit because he is making a greater number of bets.1961, John Scarne, Complete Guide to Gambling, page 102
5. A person on an open outcry exchange trading floor who buys and sells rapidly for his or her own account, aiming to buy from a seller and a little later sell to a buyer, making a small profit from the difference (roughly the amount of the bid/offer spread, or less).
6. A machine for removing the ends of grain, such as wheat or rye, or for separating the different grades of broken wheat, semolina, etc.
7. A surgical instrument for scraping carious bones.

   Synonyms:

   scalping-iron