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.
a single spot or mark on a playing card or die.
(in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.)
Also called service ace. a placement made on a service.
any placement.
a serve that the opponent fails to touch.
the point thus scored.
a fighter pilot credited with destroying a prescribed number or more of enemy aircraft, usually five, in combat.
a very skilled person; expert; adept.
an ace at tap dancing.
Slang. a one-dollar bill.
Slang. a close friend.
Golf.
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.
a score of one stroke made on such a shot.
to card an ace.
Slang. a barbiturate or amphetamine capsule or pill.
a very small quantity, amount, or degree; a particle.
not worth an ace.
Slang. a grade of A; the highest grade or score.
(in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.) to win a point against (one's opponent) by an ace.
Golf. to make an ace on (a hole).
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.
Slang.
to receive a grade of A, as on a test or in a course (sometimes followed byout ).
to complete easily and successfully.
He aced every physical fitness test they gave him.
ace up one's sleeve, an important, effective, or decisive argument, resource, or advantage kept in reserve until needed.
easy aces, aces equally divided between opponents.
be aces with, to be highly regarded by.
The boss says you're aces with him.
within an ace of, within a narrow margin of; close to.
He came within an ace of winning.
American Council on Education.
Army Corps of Engineers.
any die, domino, or any of four playing cards with one spot
a single spot or pip on a playing card, die, etc
tennis a winning serve that the opponent fails to reach
golf a hole in one
a fighter pilot accredited with destroying several enemy aircraft
informal an expert or highly skilled person
an ace at driving
a hidden and powerful advantage
to have all the advantages or power
to use one's best weapon or resource
almost to the point of
he came within an ace of winning
tennis to serve an ace against
golf to play (a hole) in one stroke
to perform extremely well or score very highly in (an examination, etc)
(in Britain) Advisory Centre for Education; a private organization offering advice on schools to parents
Allied Command Europe
angiotensin-converting enzyme See ACE inhibitor
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; see origin at as 2
First recorded in 2005–10; shortening of asexual ( def. )
An ace is a playing card with the highest value in a deck. There are four aces in a full deck of cards, each with a single heart, spade, diamond, or club pictured on it. Ace can also describe someone who's excellent at a particular skill: "He's an ace at making homemade jam!" In tennis, an ace is a point scored on a missed serve, and in golf it's a hole in one. When you ace something, you do a great job: "Just get in there and ace that math test today!" The earliest meaning was "one at dice," from the Latin as, "a unit, one, or a whole."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Logan Webb, the longtime ace of the San Francisco Giants, laughed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Also read: Only 5% of U.S. adults can ace this 8-question financial-literacy test.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Sinner saved it with an ace and offered no more half-chances.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Ureña, a 22-year-old right-hander who has emerged as another potential ace, speaks of Soriano with a giddy amusement mixed with a solemn respect for how the starter has survived in the big leagues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
I hold Jon against him like an ace: if he can be duplicitous, then so can I. But he does not talk about Susie any more.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Both groups also continued receiving standard treatment with ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
“Attempts to resolve these technical concerns with ACE Help Desk support have been slow, and certain login or other ACE account issues for importers remain unresolved.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
"ACE must listen, and I urge the government to take on all the recommendations in full. The ACE is meant to be champion of the arts, not our school master."
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025
Overall, Northern Hemisphere ACE is 19% below the year-to-date normal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
The browser opens up, and I get to a search page, and I punch in "ACE spacecraft."
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
If he teams up with Jacob Misiorowski or Chris Sale in a five-game divisional round they could face three games against aces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
While the Wimbledon grass often suits 'servebots' - tall players who send down flurries of aces and unreturnable first serves - Fery has needed to use other weapons.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Sabalenka hit eight aces, and no double faults, and saved the two break points she faced, ultimately going on to lift the trophy.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Wyatt Davis added eight kills and three blocks and Enzo Barker finished with five kills and two aces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
She aces it, a perfect serve at about ninety miles an hour that kisses the court just inside the line before I can move.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Steve aced the audition, and the four of us clicked immediately over our shared love of the Pretenders and all things Monty Python.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Netflix has for now aced out Paramount Skydance in a bidding war for Warner Bros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Hazel also aced her National 5 exams, and as a young leader with her local Scout troop she was recognised by the Chief Scout with an Unsung Hero award.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
The same AI that aced the genius test can’t count how many times the letter “R” appears in “strawberry.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2025
Tomorrow he’d ace that test, like he aced every test, and he’d move across campus to start the next phase of the Academy.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Meanwhile he brags about acing three different cognitive tests in the last year.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2026
For years, high-schoolers have boasted in college applications about learning Latin, leading the chess club or acing Advanced Placement Physics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
Minter is acing his first impression as an NFL play caller by emphasizing teamwork beyond just the field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024
According to the National Hole-In-One-Registry the odds of two players from the same foursome acing the same hole is 17 million to 1.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2024
If your kid was supersmart and acing tests, it was forgiven that he never hit a home run or scored a goal.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
