scalping

Verb

scalp (third-person singular simple present scalps, present participle scalping, simple past and past participle scalped)

1. To remove the scalp (part of the head from where the hair grows), by brutal act or accident.
   • Next morning, the Indians attacked us and one of our hunters, George Huffman, was killed and scalped. As soon as Baldwin heard the shooting, he came to our assistance.2001, Peter Cozzens, Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, 1865-1890: Conquering the Southern Plains, Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 507
2. (Canada, US, slang) To resell, especially tickets, usually for an inflated price, often illegally.
   • Tickets were being scalped for $300.

   Synonyms:

   resell

3. To bet on opposing competitors so as to make a profit from the bookmaker.
   • 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
4. On an open outcry exchange trading floor, to buy and sell rapidly for one's 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).
5. To screen or sieve ore before further processing.
   • scalped ore

   Synonyms:

   sieve

6. To remove the skin of.
   • We must […]"scalp" the whole lid [of the eye].1870, J. S. Wells, Treatise on the Diseases of the Eye

See all 16 meanings of scalp