ace

¹

[eys]

noun

1. a playing card or die marked with or having the value indicated by a single spot.

   He dealt me four aces in the first hand.

2. a single spot or mark on a playing card or die.

3. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.)

   1. Also called service ace. a placement made on a service.

   2. any placement.

   3. a serve that the opponent fails to touch.

   4. the point thus scored.

4. a fighter pilot credited with destroying a prescribed number or more of enemy aircraft, usually five, in combat.

5. a very skilled person; expert; adept.

   an ace at tap dancing.

6. Slang.,  a one-dollar bill.

7. Slang.,  a close friend.

8. Golf.

   1. Also called hole in one. a shot in which the ball is driven from the tee into the hole in one stroke.

      He hit a 225-yard ace on the first hole.

   2. a score of one stroke made on such a shot.

      to card an ace.

9. Slang.,  a barbiturate or amphetamine capsule or pill.

10. a very small quantity, amount, or degree; a particle.

    not worth an ace.

11. Slang.,  a grade of A; the highest grade or score.

verb (used with object)

aced, acing 

1. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.) to win a point against (one's opponent) by an ace.

2. Golf.,  to make an ace on (a hole).

3. Slang.,  to cheat, defraud, or take advantage of (often followed byout ).

   to be aced out of one's inheritance;

   friend who aced me out of a good job.

4. Slang.

   1. to receive a grade of A, as on a test or in a course (sometimes followed byout ).

   2. to complete easily and successfully.

      He aced every physical fitness test they gave him.

adjective

1. Sometimes aces excellent; first-rate; outstanding.

verb phrase

1. ace it,  to accomplish something with complete success.

   a champion who could ace it every time.

ace

²

[eys]

noun

1. a person who experiences little or no sexual attraction to other people; asexual.

   She's an ace, but she's had a couple of romantic relationships.

adjective

1. experiencing little or no sexual attraction to other people.

   As someone who identifies as ace, this article gave me much food for thought.

ACE

³

abbreviation

1. American Council on Education.

2. Army Corps of Engineers.

ace

¹

/ eɪs /

noun

1. any die, domino, or any of four playing cards with one spot

2. a single spot or pip on a playing card, die, etc

3. tennis a winning serve that the opponent fails to reach

4. golf a hole in one

5. a fighter pilot accredited with destroying several enemy aircraft

6. informal,  an expert or highly skilled person

   an ace at driving

7. a hidden and powerful advantage

8. to have all the advantages or power

9. to use one's best weapon or resource

10. almost to the point of

    he came within an ace of winning

adjective

1. informal,  superb; excellent

verb

1. tennis to serve an ace against

2. golf to play (a hole) in one stroke

3. to perform extremely well or score very highly in (an examination, etc)

ACE

²

/ eɪs /

acronym

1. (in Britain) Advisory Centre for Education; a private organization offering advice on schools to parents

2. Allied Command Europe

3. angiotensin-converting enzyme See ACE inhibitor

Word History and Origins

Origin of ace¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, in 1795–1800 ace ¹ for def. 5; from Middle English as, aas, ais, from Old French as, from Latin ass- (stem of as ) “a copper coin (originally weighing one pound), unit (of money, weight)”; sense 4 was taken directly from French as in World War I, and sense 5 developed from sense 4; as ²

Origin of ace²

First recorded in 2005–10; shortening of asexual ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of ace¹

C13: via Old French from Latin as a unit, perhaps from a Greek variant of heis one

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. ace up one's sleeve, an important, effective, or decisive argument, resource, or advantage kept in reserve until needed.

2. easy aces, aces equally divided between opponents.

3. be aces with, to be highly regarded by.

   The boss says you're aces with him.

4. within an ace of, within a narrow margin of; close to.

   He came within an ace of winning.

More idioms and phrases containing ace

• hold all the aces
• within an ace of

Example Sentences

For years, high-schoolers have boasted in college applications about learning Latin, leading the chess club or acing Advanced Placement Physics.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I took pride in acing my classes, plus our family needed every extra cent.

Read more on Literature

To illustrate a 4% chance, he said, he would sometimes take out a deck of cards, shuffle them and tell patients, “You have to pick a black ace from the deck to have a baby.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Sinner saved all seven break points he faced with his immense serve, with one ace leaving his 28-year-old German opponent biting his racquet in frustration.

Read more on BBC

“I’ve always been able to study up on something and ace something really fast. I thought it was all something special about me. Now it’s like, ‘Oh, a lot of Asperger’s people can do that.’

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• winner