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ace

 
Dictionary: ace   (ās) pronunciation
n.
    1. A single spot or pip on a playing card, die, or domino.
    2. A playing card, die, or domino having one spot or pip.
  1. In racket games:
    1. A serve that one's opponent fails to hit.
    2. A point scored by such a serve.
  2. The act of hitting a golf ball in the hole with one's first shot.
  3. A military aircraft pilot who has destroyed five or more enemy aircraft.
  4. An expert in a given field.
adj.

Top-notch; first-rate.

tr.v., aced, ac·ing, ac·es.
  1. To serve an ace against in racket games.
  2. To hit an ace on (a hole) in golf.
  3. Slang. To get the better of (someone): a candidate who aced his opponents in the primaries.
  4. Slang.
    1. To receive a grade of A on: She aced the exam.
    2. To perform with distinction on: aced the interview.
idioms:

ace in the hole (or up one's sleeve)

  1. A hidden advantage or resource kept in reserve until needed.
within an ace of
  1. On the verge of; very near to: came within an ace of losing the election.

[Middle English as, from Old French, from Latin, unit.]


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(Advanced Computing Environment) An open standard based on Unix and Windows NT introduced in 1991 by MIPS Computer Systems and others. Although later disbanded, its purpose was to provide users a migration path from x86 PCs to MIPS RISC machines.

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Thesaurus: ace
Top

noun

    A person with a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular field: adept, authority, dab hand, expert, master, past master, professional, proficient, wizard. Informal whiz. Slang crackerjack. Chiefly British dab. See ability/inability.

adjective

    Exceptionally good of its kind: banner, blue-ribbon, brag, capital, champion, excellent, fine, first-class, first-rate, prime, quality, splendid, superb, superior, terrific, tiptop, top. Informal A-one, bully, dandy, great, swell, topflight, topnotch. Slang boss. Chiefly British tophole. See good/bad.

verb

    To win a victory over, as in battle or a competition: beat, best, conquer, defeat, master, overcome, prevail against (or over), rout, subdue, subjugate, surmount, triumph over, vanquish, worst. Informal trim, whip. Slang lick. Idioms: carrywinthe day, gethavethe best of, gethavethe better of, go someone one better. See win/lose/recovery.

Antonyms: ace
Top

adj

Definition: being expert in some activity
Antonyms: inept, unskilled

n

Definition: expert in some activity
Antonyms: clod, ignoramus


n.a military aviator who has shot down more than five enemy aircraft.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme.

  • ACE inhibitors — a group of drugs used as vasodilators in the management of heart failure. They act to decrease circulating levels of angiotensin II and aldosterone. See captopril, enalapril, lisinopril.
Word Tutor: ace
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A playing card, often valued the highest. An expert.

pronunciation It takes study to become an ace speller.

Wikipedia: Ace
Top
Ace cards of all four suits
In the French deck, the ace keeps the index "1"

The word "ace" comes from the Old French word 'as' (from Latin 'as') meaning 'a unit', from the name of a small Roman coin. It originally meant the side of a die with only one mark, before it was a term for a playing card. Since this was the lowest roll of the die, it traditionally meant 'bad luck' in Middle English, but as the ace is often the highest playing card, its meaning has changed to mean 'high-quality, excellence'.

An ace is a playing card. In the standard deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the Ace of Spades, which also often bears the name or emblem of the deck's printer.

Historically, the ace was the lowest value, and this still holds in many popular European games (in fact most European decks, including the French Tarot Nouveau, do not use the "A" index, instead keeping the numeral "1"). However, in most games popular in the United States and English-speaking countries, aces have the highest value of all cards in a suit. Many games, such as poker and blackjack, allow the player to choose whether the ace is used as a high or low card. This duality allows players in some other games to use it as both at once; some variants of Rummy allow players to form groups, or "melds", of rank K-A-2 or similar. This is known colloquially as "going around the corner".

The word has been adopted in slang to refer to victory, or as a general adjective for describing something as good ("this is ace!"). In tennis, the act of winning a ball from the serve such that the opponent doesn't get a single shot is referred to as an ace. It can also be used to refer to a person who is exceptionally talented in a sport, such as "Portugal and Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo". In military jargon, a flying ace is a pilot who has successfully shot down five enemy aircraft.

A pair of aces is the best hand to be dealt in Texas Hold'em Poker

Ace-high theories of origin

The folk tradition of "ace high" existed in some games as of the late 1400s, but may have been accelerated to more widespread acceptance as a result of the French Revolution. In addition to the traditional court card art being replaced with face cards bearing more democratic ideals (Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité); this change was reversed as of the rise of Napoleon), the lowest number card was changed to the highest card in the deck ostensibly to represent the victory of the common man over King Louis XVI.[citation needed]

Other theories center around the ace's promotion on its own merit as being "number one", which is synonymous with the winner or the best in most cultures and languages. The game of Three-card brag, popular around the time of the American and French Revolutionary Wars and which evolved into Poker, used ace-high ranking, probably on this "number one" basis, and the popularity of this family of games may have led to ranking changes in other card game genres.

Example cards

Ace of Spades Ace of Clubs Ace of Hearts Ace of Diamonds
Ace of spades Ace of clubs Ace of hearts Ace of diamonds

Translations: Ace
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - es, stjerne
adj. - mester-, stjerne-, fremragende
v. tr. - score points, tage stik hjem

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    trumf i baghånden, i beredskab
  • aces high    esset er højest
  • have an ace in the hole    have noget i baghånden
  • have an ace up one's sleeve    have noget i ærmet, have noget i baghånden
  • have the ace in one's hand    have et es på hånden
  • within an ace of    lige på nippet til at, være ved at, være tæt på at

Nederlands (Dutch)
aas (kaartspel), ace (tennis), uitblinker, hole in één slag (golf), heel klein deeltje, piloot die veel vijandelijke vliegtuigen heeft geraakt, Te gek!, ace slaan, hoog(ste) cijfer krijgen, hole in één slag slaan,

Français (French)
n. - as (aux cartes), ace (au tennis), (fig) atout, (fig) meilleure carte, (fig) atouts en main, (fig) à deux doigts de, (US) bande Velpeau, as (de l'aviation), (US, fig) super (npl)
adj. - (US, fig) super (npl)
v. tr. - faire un ace

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    (US) avoir une carte maîtresse, (US) avoir un atout en réserve
  • aces high    (avoir) une carte maîtresse (l'as)
  • an ace up one's sleeve    (avoir) une carte maîtresse, (avoir) un atout en réserve
  • have the ace in one's hand    avoir l'as en main
  • within an ace of    à deux doigts de qch

Deutsch (German)
n. - As, Trumpf, Crack, Kanone, Könner
adj. - sehr gut
v. - eine gute Note erlangen, ein As setzen, einen Vorteil gewinnen, (Golf) mit einem Schlag einlochen

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    ein As in petto haben
  • aces high    gut angeschrieben
  • an ace up one's sleeve    ein As in petto
  • have the ace in one's hand    noch einen Trumpf in der Hand haben
  • within an ace of    kurz vor

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - άσος, (στο τένις) άσος, καρφί, δεξιοτέχνης, μοναδικός
adj. - δεξιοτέχνης, μοναδικός
v. - (τένις) καρφώνω, (καθομ.) ξεγελώ, ρίχνω, (καθομ.) αριστεύω σε εξετάσεις

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    κρυφό ατού
  • aces high    (στα χαρτιά) με τον άσο μεγαλύτερο από το ρήγα
  • have an ace in the hole    έχω κρυφό ατού
  • have an ace up one's sleeve    έχω κρυφό ατού
  • have the ace in one's hand    κρατώ τους άσους
  • hold all the aces    έχω όλα τα ατού
  • play one's ace    παίζω το ατού μου
  • within an ace of    παρ' ολίγον, παρά τρίχα

Italiano (Italian)
asso, re, fuoriclasse, campione, ace, buca in uno (golf), servizio vincente (tennis/pallavolo)

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    carta vincente segreta
  • ace up one's sleeve    asso nella manica
  • aces high    stimatissimo
  • be within an ace of death    essere a un passo dalla morte, essere in fine di vita, essere in punto di morte
  • hold all the aces    essere padrone della situazione
  • play your ace    gioca la tua carta migliore

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ás (m) (carta do baralho, peça de dominó, dado), fio (m) (de barba ou de cabelo), ponto (m) ganho com um único saque no tênis e em outros esportes (Esp.), perito (m), ninharia
adj. - de primeira (qualidade), partícula (f)
v. - acertar um buraco em uma tacada (Esp.), obter vantagem decisiva sobre, derrotar, obter uma nota elevada

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    ter um trunfo escondido
  • ace up one's sleeve    ter um trunfo escondido
  • aces high    muito elevado (coloq.)
  • hold all the aces    ter todos os ases (coloq.), ter grande vantagem
  • play your ace    dar uma cartada (coloq.)
  • within an ace of    muito próximo de, por um triz

Русский (Russian)
туз, очко, карточный туз, эксперт, специалист, в теннисе: неотразимый удар

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    скрытое преимущество
  • ace up one's sleeve    иметь козырь в запасе
  • aces high    высоко ценимый, имеющий туза
  • hold all the aces    быть в выгодном положении
  • play your ace    выкладывай козыри
  • within an ace of    быть на волосок от смерти

Español (Spanish)
n. - as, gallo, hacha, ace (golf, tenis)
adj. - as, gallo, hacha, ace (golf, tenis)
v. tr. - marcar un tanto de un golpe

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    as de reserva
  • aces high    ases juegan, el as es la carta más alta
  • an ace up one's sleeve    guardar un as en la manga
  • have the ace in one's hand    tener el as en la mano
  • within an ace of    estar a punto de, estar próximo a

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ess, äss, stjärna
adj. - stjärn-
v. - göra hole in one

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
发球得分, 么点, 么点牌, 能手, 佼佼者, 名手, 一流的, 卓越的, 打败, 胜过, 对...取得绝对优势, 以发球赢...一分

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    秘藏的王牌, 最后王牌, 秘诀, 最后手段
  • aces high    受崇敬的, 被喜爱的
  • have an ace in the hole    秘藏的王牌, 最后王牌, 秘诀, 最后手段
  • have an ace up one's sleeve    握着王牌, 有应急的妙计
  • have the ace in one's hand    秘藏的王牌, 最后王牌, 秘诀, 最后手段
  • within an ace of    只差一点, 几乎

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 發球得分, 么點, 么點牌, 能手, 佼佼者, 名手
adj. - 一流的, 卓越的
v. tr. - 打敗, 勝過, 對...取得絕對優勢, 以發球贏...一分

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    秘藏的王牌, 最後王牌, 秘訣, 最後手段
  • aces high    受崇敬的, 被喜愛的
  • have an ace in the hole    秘藏的王牌, 最後王牌, 秘訣, 最後手段
  • have an ace up one's sleeve    握著王牌, 有應急的妙計
  • have the ace in one's hand    秘藏的王牌, 最後王牌, 秘訣, 最後手段
  • within an ace of    只差一點, 幾乎

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (카드,주사위의)1, 서어브로 얻은 1점, 최고, 우수 선수, 하늘의 용사
adj. - 우수한, 숙달한
v. tr. - 서비스 에이스로 득점하다, 홀인원을 치다

idioms:

  • have an ace in the hole    홀인원을 치다
  • have an ace up one's sleeve    깜짝 놀라게 하다
  • have the ace in one's hand    승리를 얻다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 1の札, サービスエース, 上手な人, 名手, エースの, ホールインワン

idioms:

  • ace in the hole    とっておきの切り札, いざというときに役立つもの
  • ace up one's sleeve    最重要の情報, とっておきの策
  • within an ace of    もう少しのところで

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) أص ألشده " واحد ", ذره, كميه قليله, طيار يسقط خمس طائرات عدوه على الآقل, ألمتفوق (صفه) ممتاز, من الطراز الأول (فعل) متميز, على قيد شعره‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אס (הקלף החזק ביותר), נקודה על קלף, אלוף, השגת נקודה (בטניס), מומחה‬
adj. - ‮מצוין (עגה)‬
v. tr. - ‮השיג נקודה (בטניס), רימה, ניצל, קיבל ציון מירבי‬


 
 
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Aces (in poker)
Acey (family name)

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