scalper

/ˈskælpɚ/

//ˈskælpɚ// noun

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

"scalper" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scalper” is uncommon English (frequency #90,940 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,940
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who scalps, or removes the scalp of another.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scalper · scalper · English

scalper · rank #90,940 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,940
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Scamander

Nearest frequency peer: Scamander (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “scalper”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “scalper” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for scalper
PropertyValue
Headwordscalper
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈskælpɚ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#90,940
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “scalper” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).scalperfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Scamander” (#90,941), “sarma” (#90,935), “sanga” (#90,933). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scalper” is #90,940. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

scalper is uncommon English at frequency #90,940 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈskælpɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

scalper has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From scalp + -er. The correct English form is scalper, spelled S-C-A-L-P-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who scalps, or removes the scalp of another.
  2. 2
    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.
  3. 3
    One who scalps any other item with limited availability.
  4. 4
    A gambler who scalps.
  5. 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. 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. 7
    A surgical instrument for scraping carious bones.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Denouncing representations of hostile Indians as vicious scalpers of innocent settlers […]
  2. We could see three different scalpers moving through the crowd outside the arena, each muttering the characteristic refrain: “Need any tickets?”

Etymology

From scalp + -er.

This word in other languages

revendedora(Español)cambista(Português)

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 "scalper"?
"scalper" is spelled S-C-A-L-P-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈskælpɚ/.
What does "scalper" mean?
As a noun, "scalper" means: One who scalps, or removes the scalp of another.
How do you pronounce "scalper"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scalper" is /ˈskælpɚ/. 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 "scalper"?
From scalp + -er. 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 "scalper", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sambuca#90,932scribal#90,952rouleau#90,915Roseman#90,914

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list