ace

noun

\ ˈās

Definition of ace

(Entry 1 of 5)

1a : a die face marked with one spot

b : a playing card marked in its center with one pip

c : a domino end marked with one spot

2 : a very small amount or degree : particle

3 : a point scored especially on a service (as in tennis or handball) that an opponent fails to touch

4 : a golf score of one stroke on a hole also : a hole made in one stroke

5 : a combat pilot who has brought down at least five enemy airplanes

6a : a person who excels at something a computer ace

b : the best pitcher on a baseball team the ace of the staff

ace in the hole

1 : an ace dealt face down to a player (as in stud poker) and not exposed until the showdown

2 : an effective and decisive argument or resource held in reserve

within an ace of

: on the point of : very near to came within an ace of winning

ace

verb

aced; acing

Definition of ace (Entry 2 of 5)

transitive verb

1 : to score an ace against (an opponent)

2 : to make (a hole in golf) in one stroke

3 : to gain a decisive advantage over : defeat —usually used with out

4a : to earn a high grade on (something, such as an examination) especially : to get an A on

b : to perform extremely well in he aced every subject

ace

adjective

Definition of ace (Entry 3 of 5)

: of first or high rank or quality an ace mechanic

Ace

trademark

Definition of Ace (Entry 4 of 5)

—used for a bandage with elastic properties

ACE

abbreviation

Definition of ACE (Entry 5 of 5)

1 American Council on Education

2 \ ˌā-(ˌ)sē-ˈē

, ˈās- \ angiotensin converting enzyme The ACE inhibitors are designer molecules developed specifically to attach to their target enzyme and prevent it from activating angiotensin. Virtually the only thing these drugs do in the body is to interact with ACE. However, ACE is not a very specific enzyme; it acts on hormones besides angiotensin. — Harvard Medical Health Letter

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about ace

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Examples of ace in a Sentence

Noun

She won the match by scoring more than 30 aces. took a few lessons with a tennis ace to improve his backhand

Verb

She aced her entrance exams. He aced his annual physical. He aced his opponent on the last point of the match.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

And in the playoffs, pretty much every team is an ace. — Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times, "Pete Carroll doesn’t seem satisfied with 10-6 and the playoffs, and knows offseason work is needed," 8 Jan. 2019 Molly recorded 223 kills, 148 digs, 31 aces and 28 blocks. — Brian Gosset, star-telegram, "Sisters duo has aspirations of playing in Olympics. They’re off to a good start," 13 July 2018 Martin, a three-year captain, finished the season with 222 kills, 91 blocks, 12 aces, 59 digs and a .787 hitting percentage in leading the Chiefs to the perfect season. — Gary Curreri, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Broward boys volleyball player of the year: James Martin, Cardinal Gibbons senior," 20 June 2018 Head led West Orange with 343 kills, 245 digs and 78 aces as a standout in every rotation. — Buddy Collings, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Varsity Awards: Alana Wolfberg, Joey Silva win top athlete honors," 16 June 2018 Jepsen was solid in 2017 as a sophomore, but skyrocketed into the state’s elite as a junior, totaling 428 kills, 225 digs, 51 blocks and 45 aces to lead Marist (33-5) into the sectional semifinals. — Logan Malloy, Daily Southtown, "Simply marvelous: Marist's Marty Jepsen is the 2018 Daily Southtown Boys Volleyball Player of the Year," 14 June 2018 Roche had the luck to not only ace the interview, but become a designer, architect, and eventually key associate at one of the more exciting architecture offices of the 20th century. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Why Eero Saarinen’s ‘50s office was a breeding ground for modernist design," 8 Nov. 2018 Got hair spray from pound shop right with all Halloween stuff ....Spray it on thought yeah looks ace that. — Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, "One Mother Accidentally Applied Spray Paint Instead of Hair Dye to Her Child’s Hair," 2 Nov. 2018 Presented by Moët & Chandon, ace players including Roger Federer, joined by wife Mirka, Novak Djokovic, and Grigor Dimitrov donned their finest black tie. — Vogue, "Champagne and Tennis: The Laver Cup Opening Night Gala," 21 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Sophie competes on the local gymnastics team, aces her spelling tests, goes on loads of play- dates, and loves to download songs for her iPod. — Jennifer Rabiner*, Redbook, ""Why Don't I Like My Own Child?"," 10 Nov. 2016 Under the current system, applicants must ace the famously difficult Specialized High School Admissions Test. — Leslie Brody, WSJ, "Stuyvesant, Other Elite New York Public High Schools Could Admit Students Who Didn’t Pass State Tests," 18 Oct. 2018 The Tesla Model 3 has aced its first crash tests, scoring five stars across the board on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s assessment. — Fox News, "Tesla Model 3 gets five star rating in NHTSA crash tests," 21 Sep. 2018 Oliveira has shared four key tips for acing the online vintage hunt. — Bianca Nieves, Glamour, "Passport Vintage Is Fashion People's Best-Kept Secret for Vintage Denim," 21 Aug. 2018 Best for Stomach Sleepers Pacific Coast Double DownAround Soft This pillow aced all lab tests, from multiple washings to withstanding weight, but testers were split on whether this combo of down and feathers was soft enough. — The Good Housekeeping Institute, Good Housekeeping, "The Best Pillows to Help You Sleep Like a Baby," 12 Jan. 2018 Here are the guys acing summer style right now at the Wimbledon 2018 tournament. — The Editors Of Gq, GQ, "Wimbledon 2018: What Stylish Guys Are Wearing to the Best-Dressed Tennis Tournament," 3 July 2018 Aidan Doust of Marshfield, a Quincy College student, has aced his final project for a course in aquaculture. — BostonGlobe.com, "Tea by the sea, Korean peace medals, and $2,000 to fight hunger," 13 July 2018 Google has aced transcribing human speech for its AI to parse, and creating a human-sounding robot voice to respond. — Aaron Pressman, Fortune, "Data Sheet—Google's Duplex AI Proves Its Powers and Limitations," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ace.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for ace

Noun

Middle English as, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin ass-, ās "copper money piece (at first a pound, but progressively reduced to a half-ounce), pound unit of weight, unit," of uncertain origin

Note: The word ās has been compared within Latin to asser "wooden beam, pole, post" (generalized from a plural asserēs, from a singular *assis?) and assis, axis (by hypercorrection?) "plank, board," though any relationship is far from certain. A loanword from Etruscan?

Adjective

derivative of ace entry 1

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Statistics for ace

Last Updated

10 Feb 2019

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Time Traveler for ace

The first known use of ace was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for ace

ace

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ace

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a playing card with one large figure in its center that can be the card with either the highest or lowest value

: a person who is very skilled at something

: a point scored on a serve that an opponent fails to hit in tennis

ace

verb

English Language Learners Definition of ace (Entry 2 of 2)

US, informal : to earn a very high grade on (an examination) : to get a grade of A on (an examination) : to perform very well on (a test or challenge)

: to score an ace against (an opponent in tennis)

US : to score an ace on (a hole in golf)

See the full definition for ace in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ace

noun

\ ˈās