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ace

aces; aced; acing

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."

Definitions of ace
  1. noun
    one of four playing cards in a deck having a single pip on its face
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    types:
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    ace of clubs
    the ace in the club suit
    ace of diamonds
    the ace in the diamond suit
    ace of hearts
    the ace in the heart suit
    ace of spades
    the ace in the spade suit; sometimes taken as a portent of death
    type of:
    playing card
    one of a pack of cards that are used to play card games
  2. noun
    the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
    synonyms: 1, I, one, single, unity
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    types:
    monad, monas
    a singular metaphysical entity from which material properties are said to derive
    singleton
    a single object (as distinguished from a pair)
    fellow, mate
    one of a pair
    type of:
    digit, figure
    one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration
  3. noun
    someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
    synonyms: adept, champion, genius, hotshot, maven, mavin, sensation, star, superstar, virtuoso, whiz, whizz, wiz, wizard
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    types:
    track star
    a star runner
    type of:
    expert, pundit
    a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully
  4. adjective
    of the highest quality
    “an ace reporter”
    synonyms: A-one, crack, first-rate, super, tiptop, top-notch, topnotch, tops
    superior
    of high or superior quality or performance
  5. verb
    succeed at easily
    synonyms: breeze through, nail, pass with flying colors, sail through, sweep through
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    type of:
    make it, pass
    go successfully through a test or a selection process
  6. noun
    a serve that the receiver is unable to reach
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    type of:
    serve, service
    (sports) a stroke that puts the ball in play
  7. verb
    serve an ace against (someone)
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    type of:
    serve
    put the ball into play
  8. verb
    score an ace against
    “He aced his opponents”
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    type of:
    hit, rack up, score, tally
    gain points in a game
  9. verb
    play (a hole) in one stroke
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    type of:
    play
    participate in games or sport
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘ace'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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