Ace

Pronunciation

• enPR: ās, IPA: /eɪs/
• Rhymes: -eɪs

Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis, unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage. Compare as

Full definition of ace

Noun

1. A single point or spot on a playing card or die.
2. A card or die face so marked.I have the ace of diamonds.
3. A very small quantity or degree; a particle; an atom; a jot.
• unknown date John DrydenI'll not wag an ace further.
• c. 1658 Dr. Henry More, Government of the Tongue :He will not bate an ace of absolute certainty.
4. (tennis) A serve won without the opponent hitting the ball.
5. (US) (baseball) The best pitcher on the team.
6. (US) (baseball, dated, 19th century) A run.
7. (US) (golf) A hole in one.
8. An expert at something.
• 2011, September 29, Jon Smith, Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers, Mexican ace Dos Santos smashed home the third five minutes later after good work from Defoe.
9. A military aircraft pilot who is credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft.
10. (US) A perfect score on a school exam.

Usage notes

Used as an exclamation to mean excellent. But see ace (adjective). Also in plural: aces.

Synonyms

• (single point or spot) pip

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Verb

1. (US) To pass (a test, interviews etc.) perfectly.
2. (tennis) To win a point by an ace.
3. (golf) To make an ace (hole in one).

Synonyms

• (to pass a test) pass with flying colours

Derived terms

• ace it
• ace out

Adjective

1. (UK, slang) Excellent.

Usage notes

Used as exclamation. Also see ace (noun) above and aces.

Synonyms

• excellent
• first-rate
• outstanding

From asexual by shortening.

Adjective

1. (slang) Asexual.
• 2009, Anneli Rufus, "Asexuals at the Pride Parade", Psychology Today, 22 June 2009:"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)."
• 2010, Amy Ebersole, "Asexuality, not to be confused with celibacy", The Daily Aztec (San Diego State University), 25 January 2010:“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.”
• 2013, Andrea Garcia-Vargas, "Ourselves, our sex, our choices", The Eye, 28 March 2013:“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.

Synonyms

• asexy slang

Noun

1. (slang) A person who identifies as asexual.
• 2012, Tasmin Prichard, "Freedom from Desire: Some Notes on Asexuality", Salient (Victoria University of Wellington), 23 July 2012, page 20: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!
• 2013, Leigh Miller, "(A)Sexual Healing", Jerk (Syracuse University), Volume XII, Issue V, April 2013, page 23:Negativity toward asexuality can make emerging aces fear that something is wrong with them.
• 2014, Emma Ianni, "New Group to Bring Awareness Of C. U. Asexual Community", The Cornell Daily Sun (Cornell University), Volume 130, Number 81, 4 February 2014, page 1: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.

Anagrams

• AEC
• CEA