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 serv·ice 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.
verb (used with object),aced,ac·ing.
(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 by out): to be aced out of one's inheritance; a 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 by out).
to complete easily and successfully: He aced every physical fitness test they gave him.
adjective
Sometimes aces . excellent; first-rate; outstanding.
Verb Phrases
ace it,Slang. to accomplish something with complete success: a champion who could ace it every time.
Idioms for ace
ace up one's sleeve, an important, effective, or decisive argument, resource, or advantage kept in reserve until needed.
be aces with, Slang. to be highly regarded by: The boss says you're aces with him.
easy aces, Auction Bridge. aces equally divided between opponents.
within an ace of, within a narrow margin of; close to: He came within an ace of winning.
Origin of ace
1
First recorded in 1250–1300, in 1795–1800 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 as2
Meanwhile, Montas has looked like an ace with a splitter he added that produced the fifth-best whiff-per-swing mark of its kind last season.
The A’s Aren’t Just Scrappy. They’ve Got Stars.|Travis Sawchik|August 13, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Staff ace Max Scherzer has enjoyed seven-straight top-five Cy Young finishes and shows little sign of slowing.
The Dodgers Lead Our National League Predictions, But Don’t Count Out The Nats Or … Reds?|Travis Sawchik|July 22, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
A sleeper NL Cy Young candidate is ace Chris Paddack, who was limited to 140 ⅔ innings as a rookie last season by the cautious Padres.
The Dodgers Lead Our National League Predictions, But Don’t Count Out The Nats Or … Reds?|Travis Sawchik|July 22, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Do you have a high ACE score — adverse childhood experiences.
The Opioid Tragedy, Part 2: “It’s Not a Death Sentence” (Ep. 403)|Stephen J. Dubner|January 23, 2020|Freakonomics
There’s also the fact that painkillers are, by their nature, a desirable medication — they literally make your pain stop — so you can imagine patients demanding them a bit more adamantly than they’d demand a statin or an ACE inhibitor.
The Opioid Tragedy, Part 1: “We’ve Addicted an Entire Generation” (Ep. 402)|Stephen J. Dubner|January 16, 2020|Freakonomics
An ace comedic turn that, in lesser hands, would come off as one-note.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’|Marlow Stern|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
My grandfather lived fast and large—he liked his liquor and his tobacco, and he was also an ace gambler.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Time and time again, we see women being asked to ace some arbitrary test in order to be deemed model victims.
Why We're So Hard on Janay Rice and Celebrity Survivors of Abuse|Amy Zimmerman|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is getting ready to watch Jack Morris, the Tigers ace, go for win number nineteen against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Elmore Leonard’s Rocky Road to Fame and Fortune|Mike Lupica|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She had been seeking not only access to the presentation materials, but also a list of ACE members who attended the webinar.
Colleges Lawyer Up Before Claire McCaskill Rape Inquiry|Emily Shire|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She had been within an ace of saying she had explained matters to Mr. Danver.
Antony Gray,--Gardener|Leslie Moore
The same hand, except that the Clubs are Ace, King, and two small.
Auction of To-day|Milton C. Work
Your opponent is kept in the dark until the last moment, when the ace has probably been won.
Lawn Tennis for Ladies|Mrs. Lambert Chambers
The thought of Ace's bandages, and the vision of wounds under them filled me with remorse--but I was boss!
Vandemark's Folly|Herbert Quick
We've trumped your ace, as you say, and we mean to take advantage of it.
The Strand Magazine, Volume XVII, February 1899, No. 98.|Various
British Dictionary definitions for ace (1 of 2)
ace
/ (eɪs) /
noun
any die, domino, or any of four playing cards with one spot
a single spot or pip on a playing card, die, etc
tennisa winning serve that the opponent fails to reach
golf, mainlyUSa hole in one
a fighter pilot accredited with destroying several enemy aircraft
informalan expert or highly skilled personan ace at driving
an ace up one's sleeveoran ace in the holea hidden and powerful advantage
hold all the acesto have all the advantages or power
play one's aceto use one's best weapon or resource
within an ace ofalmost to the point ofhe came within an ace of winning
adjective
informalsuperb; excellent
verb(tr)
tennisto serve an ace against
golf, mainlyUSto play (a hole) in one stroke
US and Canadianto perform extremely well or score very highly in (an examination, etc)
Word Origin for ace
C13: via Old French from Latin as a unit, perhaps from a Greek variant of heis one
British Dictionary definitions for ace (2 of 2)
ACE
/ (eɪs) /
n acronym for
(in Britain) Advisory Centre for Education; a private organization offering advice on schools to parents