ace

verb, adj, noun — 32 senses

ace

verbalso spelled ACE

/ˈeɪ̯s/ · [ˈeɪ̯s]

Etymology Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”), probably borrowed from Etruscan. Doublet of as.

1

US, Informal To pass (a test, interviews etc.) perfectly.

2

US, Ambitransitive, Informal To defeat (others) in a contest; to outdo (others) in a competition.

3

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports, Tennis Ambitransitive To win a point against (an opponent) by an ace.

4

Golf, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To make an ace (hole in one).

Synonyms
ace out, pass with flying colours
Derived terms
ace into, ace out

ace

adj

Etymology Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”), probably borrowed from Etruscan. Doublet of as.

1

UK, Slang Excellent.

ACE

noun

/eɪs/

10 senses
  1. 1A member of American Cinema Editors
  2. 2Initialism of angiotensin converting enzyme.
  3. 3Initialism of air combat element.
  4. 4Initialism of aviation combat element.
  5. 5Initialism of analysis and control element.
  6. 6Initialism of arbitrary code execution.
  7. 7Initialism of access control entry.
  8. 8Initialism of ASCII-compatible encoding.
  9. 9Initialism of adverse childhood experience.
  10. 10Initialism of accumulated cyclone energy.
1

Broadcasting, Film, Media, Television A member of American Cinema Editors

2

Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Medicine, Microbiology, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of angiotensin converting enzyme.

3

Government, Military, Politics, War Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of air combat element.

4

Government, Military, Politics, War Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of aviation combat element.

5

Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of analysis and control element.

6

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of arbitrary code execution.

7

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of access control entry.

8

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of ASCII-compatible encoding.

  • Because the DNS requires that a domain name be in an ACE format, IDNA proposes that client applications, such as a web browser, manage the character conversion internally.2003, John Yunker, Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies, New Riders, →ISBN:
9

Human sciences, Psychology, Sciences Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of adverse childhood experience.

10

Climatology, Meteorology, Natural sciences Abbreviation, Initialism Initialism of accumulated cyclone energy.

Derived terms
ACE1, ACE2, hrsACE2

ace

noun

Etymology Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”), probably borrowed from Etruscan. Doublet of as.

15 senses
  1. 1A playing card showing a single pip, typically the…
  2. 2A die face marked with a single dot, typically…
  3. 3The ball marked with the number 1 in pool and related games.
  4. 4A dollar bill.
  5. 5A very small quantity or degree; a particle; an atom; a jot.
  6. 6A serve won without the opponent hitting the ball.
  7. 7A point won by a single stroke, as in handball, rackets, etc.
  8. 8The best pitcher on the team.
  9. 9A run.
  10. 10A hole in one.
  11. 11An expert at something; a maverick, genius; a person of…
  12. 12A military aircraft pilot who is credited with shooting…
  13. 13A perfect score on a school exam.
  14. 14Any of various hesperiid butterflies.
  15. 15A quark.
1

Card games, Games A playing card showing a single pip, typically the highest or lowest ranking card in a game.

  • You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. The deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. And when I see the trey I think of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.1948 January 1, “Deck of Cards” (track 20), in Famous Country Music Makers, performed by Tex Ritter:
2

Dice, Games A die face marked with a single dot, typically representing the number one.

3

The ball marked with the number 1 in pool and related games.

  • Ace in the corner.1961, The Hustler:
4

US, Slang A dollar bill.

  • […] maybe two or three twenties, a dozen tens, and twenty or thirty fins. The rest is all aces and silver.1990, David F. Friedman, Don DeNevi, A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-film King, page 136:
  • If they got too many aces (dollar bills) or fives or tens, they turned them in to the vault where they became part of the reserve.1996, Arthur M. Smith, Robert Thomas King, Let's Get Going, page 65:
5

A very small quantity or degree; a particle; an atom; a jot.

  • He will not bate an ace of absolute certainty.c. 1658, Dr. Henry More, Government of the Tongue:
  • I'LL not wag an ace farther: The whole World ſhall not bribe me to it;1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act IV, page 45:
6

Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports, Tennis, Volleyball A serve won without the opponent hitting the ball.

7

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A point won by a single stroke, as in handball, rackets, etc.

8

Ball games, Baseball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports US The best pitcher on the team.

9

Ball games, Baseball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports US, Dated, Obsolete A run.

10

Golf, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports US A hole in one.

  • "Most of the aces weren't on holes I would have liked to have made them on," confessed Colk, who dropped his fifth dodo of 1935 on December 29, which was believed at the time to be a record for most aces in a year.2012, Arv Olson, Backspin: 120 Years of Golf in British Columbia, page 253:
11

Sometimes An expert at something; a maverick, genius; a person of supreme talent.

  • an ace detective
  • ‘Weston, the ace of theatrical agents.’1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 4:
1 more example
  • Mexican ace Dos Santos smashed home the third five minutes later after good work from Defoe.2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport:
12

A military aircraft pilot who is credited with shooting down many enemy aircraft, typically five or more.

13

US A perfect score on a school exam.

14

Any of various hesperiid butterflies.

15

Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Obsolete A quark.

Derived terms
46 termsace bare, ace boon coon, aceboy, acegirl, ace-high, ace in a day, ace in the hole, aceless, aceness, ace of aces, ace of clubs, ace of diamonds, ace of hearts, ace of queen, ace of spades, ace of the deep, ace point, aces and eights, aces and spaces, ace up one's sleeve, acey-deucey, air ace, bate an ace, be aces with, black ace, chase the ace, Chinese ace, duty ace, easy aces, eights and aces, fighter ace, flying ace, gray ace, hold all of the aces, hold all the aces, hold the aces, jet ace, panzer ace, return ace, six-ace flat, submarine ace, tank ace, tanker ace, U-boat ace, within ames ace, within an ace of
Coordinate terms
deuce, trey, cater, cinque, sice

ace

adj

Etymology Clipping of asexual.

1

Slang Asexual, not experiencing sexual attraction.

  • "Some people who identify as ace fall under the GLBT umbrella while many others do not. Members of the queer movement have reached out to asexuals to include them in their community. The acronym for this has now become GLBTQA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and asexual)."2009 June 22, Anneli Rufus, “Asexuals at the Pride Parade”, in Psychology Today:
  • “I was 14 when I first realized I had no interest in sex,” Jed Strohm, a happily satisfied, romantic asexual from upstate New York, said. “I identified as ace (asexual) and the group leader said I was too attractive.”2010, Amy Ebersole, "Asexuality, not to be confused with celibacy", The Daily Aztec (San Diego State University), 25 January 2010
1 more example
  • “If you identify as ace [asexual] and you just don’t feel like having sex, then for me, sex-positive means, ‘That’s great! It’s fantastic you don’t want to have sex!’” says McGown.2013 March 28, Andrea Garcia-Vargas, “Ourselves, our sex, our choices”, in The Eye:
Derived terms
ace-aro, aceflux, acemisia, acephobe, acephobia, acephobic, acespec, aro-ace

ace

noun

Etymology Clipping of asexual.

1

Slang A person who is asexual.

  • Asexuals are programmed differently, like anybody else on the LGBTQXYZ spectrum, but difference is cool! Difference is perhaps the best part of being queer. Own it, aces!2012 July 23, Tasmin Prichard, “Freedom from Desire: Some Notes on Asexuality”, in Salient, Victoria University of Wellington, page 20:
  • Negativity toward asexuality can make emerging aces fear that something is wrong with them.2013 April, Leigh Miller, “(A)Sexual Healing”, in Jerk, volume XII, number V, Syracuse University, page 23:
1 more example
  • G. F. said she came up with the idea of creating an asexual group last semester, when she was struggling with the way being an ace was affecting her personal life.2014 February 4, Emma Ianni, “New Group to Bring Awareness Of C. U. Asexual Community”, in The Cornell Daily Sun, volume 130, number 81, Cornell University, page 1:
Related terms
aro, ace K

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for ace and ACE.

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