ace

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /eɪs/ UK /eɪs/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like aitch /tʃ/ vs /s/

Meanings

1

noun
a person who excels at something, or a playing card marked with a single pip

He is an ace at solving complex puzzles.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who excels at... expert master virtuoso champion prodigy whiz

Opposites

novice amateur beginner bungler

Word family

Derived forms acer

Related forms aces

Appears in

Idioms (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Ace entered Middle English from Latin as, meaning “unit,” and originally denoted the side of a die marked with one spot. Its high value in many card games gave it associations with excellence. During the First World War, ace came to denote a fighter pilot who had brought down many enemy aircraft, and it was soon extended to anyone who excels at something.

Etymology

From Old French as ('a unit, the one on dice'), from Latin as ('a unit, a copper coin'), of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from Etruscan. The sense 'expert' arose in 20th-century aviation slang.

as Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# ace

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /eɪs/
**IPA (UK):** /eɪs/

## Meanings
1. a person who excels at something, or a playing card marked with a single pip

## Examples
- He is an ace at solving complex puzzles.

## Synonyms
- expert
- master
- virtuoso
- champion
- prodigy
- whiz

## Antonyms
- novice
- amateur
- beginner
- bungler

## Derived Forms
- acer

## Related Forms
- aces

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: as

## Etymology
From Old French as ('a unit, the one on dice'), from Latin as ('a unit, a copper coin'), of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from Etruscan. The sense 'expert' arose in 20th-century aviation slang.

## AI Etymology
Ace is from Old French as ('a unit, the one on dice'), from Latin as ('a unit, a copper coin'), of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from Etruscan. The sense 'expert' arose in 20th-century aviation slang. In present-day use, it means a person who excels at something, or a playing card marked with a single pip. Derived formations include acer. Related vocabulary includes aces.

## Topics
- People & Society

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