What does "scalp" mean?
The top of the head; the skull.
Scalp
/skælp/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The top of the head; the skull.
- Grammar: scalp is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bark, be caught short, be short, belong.
- Useful contrasts: buy and hold, face value sale, facial skin.
- Usage evidence: She scratched her itch through the scalp to the brain.
How to use "scalp"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scalp" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scalp" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scalp" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scalp" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scalp" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bark" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scalp", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The top of the head; the skull. dialectal
- 2 the skin that covers the top of the head wordnet
- 3 The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.
"By the bare scalpe of Robin Hoods fat Fryer, / This fellow were a King, for our wilde faction."
- 4 The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.; A part of the skin of the head, with the hair attached, formerly cut or torn off from an enemy by warriors in some cultures as a token of victory. historical
"Some tribes used to collect scalps to prove how many of the enemy they had killed in battle."
- 5 The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.; The skin of the head of a stag, to which the horns are attached.
"He bears for Arms : Argent, on a chevron invected gules, between two bugle-horns sable, stringed of the second in chief, and the attires of a stag affixed to the scalp in base of the third, two fasces chevronways or."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A victory, especially at the expense of someone else. figuratively
"[At the American State Convention in 1856 the Hon E. M. Yerger of Yazoo said that] he came up to the great council fire of his people, not like his friends Cobb, Hillyer and Brooke, with no scalps at his girdle that he had had a fight and a glorious victory."
- 7 A bed or stratum of shellfish. Scotland
- 8 The top; the summit. figuratively
"the snowy scalp of Ben Cruachan"
Verb
- 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."
- 2 remove the scalp of wordnet
- 3 To resell, especially tickets, usually for an inflated price, often illegally. Canada, US, slang
"Tickets were being scalped for $300."
- 4 sell illegally, as on the black market wordnet
- 5 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."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 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).
- 7 To screen or sieve ore before further processing.
"scalped ore"
- 8 To remove the skin of.
"We must […]"scalp" the whole lid [of the eye]."
- 9 To remove the grass from. transitive
- 10 To destroy the political influence of. transitive
- 11 To brush the hairs or fuzz from (wheat grains, etc.) in the process of high milling.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
buy and holdface value salefacial skinfair sale
Example
"She scratched her itch through the scalp to the brain."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scalp"?
Common synonyms include: bark, be caught short, be short, belong, bucket, bucketshop.
How do you use "scalp" in a sentence?
She scratched her itch through the scalp to the brain.
How do you pronounce "scalp"?
Pronounced /skælp/.
Etymology
From Middle English scalp, skalp, scalpe (“crown of the head; skull”). Originally a northern word, and therefore probably from a North Germanic source, although the sense-development is unclear; compare Sylt North Frisian Skolp (“dandruff”), Old Norse skálpr (“sheath”), Old Swedish skalp, Dutch schelp (“shell”).