From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishaceace1 /eɪs/ noun [countable] 1 playing cardDGC a playing card with a single spot on it, which usually has the highest value in a game the ace of hearts I’ve got a pair of aces.2 skilful personGOOD AT someone who is extremely skilful at doing something a soccer ace cycling ace Chris Boardman3 tennis shotDSTDS a first shot in tennis or volleyball which is hit so well that your opponent cannot reach the ball and you win the point4 → hold the aces5 → within an ace of (doing) something6 → have an ace up your sleeve7 → ace in the hole
Examples from the Corpus
ace• Her third serve rocketed over the net, an ace.• There are aces and kings and twos and threes in any deck of cards.• a World War II flying ace• Mungo decided to play his ace.• pitching ace Doug Jones• The Ulster Inter-Pro ace has failed in his battle to recover from a thumb injury sustained during a recent skiing holiday.• The Rangers ace suffered a stress fracture of the right knee after a late tackle in the recent 1-1 draw at Broomfield.• And how did he know she was holding the ace?aceace2 adjective 1 → ace pilot/player/skier etc2 British English spokenGOOD/EXCELLENT very good The party was ace.Examples from the Corpus
ace• It's clear that ace coach Eddie Futch has taken a shine to him.• It'd be ace if you could come to the party.• She was always ace on a sewing machine.• Then Saughton Sports Centre is offering an ace opportunity you can't turn down.• Now the area will be seen for what it has to offer: superb technical lines of good rock and ace protection.aceace3 verb [transitive] 1 American English informal to do very well in an examination, a piece of written work etc I aced the History test.2 DSTDSto hit your first shot in tennis or volleyball so well that your opponent cannot reach the ball→ See Verb tableFrom Longman Business DictionaryACEACE abbreviation for ACTIVE CORPS OF EXECUTIVESOrigin ace1 (1300-1400) Old French as, from Latin, “unit, a small coin” 