ace

noun (1)

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\ ˈās

Definition of ace

(Entry 1 of 7)

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 7)

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 (1)

Definition of ace (Entry 3 of 7)

: of first or high rank or quality an ace mechanic

ace

noun (2)

plural aces

Definition of ace (Entry 4 of 7)

: an asexual person (see asexual sense 3b) Like many other aces and aros, I grew up thinking I was broken. I was 19 before I heard the words "asexual" or "aromantic," before I found out that there were other people in the world like me.— Mikayla Micomonaco

ace

adjective (2)

Definition of ace (Entry 5 of 7)

: asexual But ace individuals often still feel romantic attraction toward others, as well as a drive to cultivate intimate, loving relationships—just without an intrinsic interest in pursuing the sexual aspect.— Taryn Deoilers

Ace

trademark

Definition of Ace (Entry 6 of 7)

—used for a bandage with elastic properties

ACE

abbreviation

Definition of ACE (Entry 7 of 7)

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

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Examples of ace in a Sentence

Noun (1) 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 But, as always, Sony has an ace up its sleeve; the vast, varied, and consistently enthralling archive of Playstation classics. — Luke Winkie, Vulture, 4 May 2021 But hold on a moment — big tech might have another ace up its sleeve. — Anneken Tappe, CNN, 24 Apr. 2021 Garrity also led our team in the front row with nine kills, six blocks, one dig and one ace. — oregonlive, 20 Apr. 2021 Bieber and his stylist, Karla Welch always have an ace up their sleeve and the outfit was a charming end to an eventful week. — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2021 But the governor, for now, appears to have an ace up his sleeve: a powerful political lifeline in the White House. — Katherine Doyle, Washington Examiner, 17 Mar. 2021 Proctor, the ace of the staff early in the season, has a 0.53 ERA in three starts. — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 27 May 2021 In a 4-0 Merrimack Valley Conference win over Chelmsford, the Red Raiders junior ace broke her school record for strikeouts (19) in a game by recording all 21 outs by K in seven innings. — BostonGlobe.com, 25 May 2021 The clip is decorated with the ace of spades in black lacquer as a reference to the card game during which Fogg makes his fateful wager (other playing card references are subtly incorporated into the wave pattern on the pens). — Nancy Olson, Forbes, 24 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has found himself in a sticky situation. — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 10 June 2021 Rangers ace starter Kyle Gibson will have his start pushed back. — Dallas News, 5 June 2021 Yarbrough ended a 24-start winless skid with Tampa Bay’s first complete game in more than five years, Austin Meadows homered off shaky Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and drove in five runs, and the Rays beat New York 9-2 Thursday. — Jake Seiner, courant.com, 3 June 2021 But Raiders ace Gabby Sandoval (32-4) got Businger to pop up to end the game. — oregonlive, 3 June 2021 Ahlstrom and Stanford ace Brendan Beck traded frames of dominance through six-and-a-half scoreless innings. — James Crepea | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 21 May 2021 Lovejoy swept its two district matchups with Rock Hill, a first-year program, and Lovejoy is coming off a 2-0 win in a one-game playoff against Hillcrest and ace pitcher Ryan Prager, a Texas A&M signee. — Greg Riddle, Dallas News, 19 May 2021 And with every joyous occasion comes an opportunity to ace the dress code test. — Betsy Cribb, Southern Living, 6 May 2021 Junior Kelly Greene stepped up big as a freshman in 2019 when ace pitcher Bridget McDermott was injured. — Tony Baranek, chicagotribune.com, 16 Apr. 2021

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.

First Known Use of ace

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1923, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (1)

1926, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

2008, in the meaning defined above

Adjective (2)

2009, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for ace

Noun (1)

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 (1)

derivative of ace entry 1

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Last Updated

12 Jun 2021

Cite this Entry

“Ace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ace. Accessed 15 Jun. 2021.

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More Definitions for ace

ace

verb

English Language Learners Definition of ace

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