ace

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”). Doublet of as. Likely related or deriving ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs, or otherwise taking from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”) in the sense of "singular".

noun

1. (card games) A playing card showing a single pip, typically the highest or lowest ranking card in a game.
   You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. The deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. And when I see the trey I think of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 1948-01-01, “Deck of Cards” (track 20), in Famous Country Music Makers, performed by Tex Ritter
2. (dice games) A die face marked with a single dot, typically representing the number one.
3. The ball marked with the number 1 in pool and related games.
   1961, The Hustler (film): a character is calling his next shot Ace in the corner.
4. (US, slang) A dollar bill.
   […] maybe two or three twenties, a dozen tens, and twenty or thirty fins. The rest is all aces and silver. 1990, David F. Friedman, Don DeNevi, A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-film King, page 136
   If they got too many aces (dollar bills) or fives or tens, they turned them in to the vault where they became part of the reserve. 1996, Arthur M. Smith, Robert Thomas King, Let's Get Going, page 65
5. A very small quantity or degree; a particle; an atom; a jot.
   He will not bate an ace of absolute certainty. c. 1658, Dr. Henry More, Government of the Tongue
6. (tennis, volleyball) A serve won without the opponent hitting the ball.
7. (sports) A point won by a single stroke, as in handball, rackets, etc.
8. (US, baseball) The best pitcher on the team.
9. (US, baseball, dated, 19th century) A run.
10. (US, golf, disc golf) A hole in one.
    "Most of the aces weren't on holes I would have liked to have made them on," confessed Colk, who dropped his fifth dodo of 1935 on December 29, which was believed at the time to be a record for most aces in a year. 2012, Arv Olson, Backspin: 120 Years of Golf in British Columbia, page 253
11. (sometimes attributive) An expert at something; a maverick, genius; a person of supreme talent.
    an ace detective
    ‘Weston, the ace of theatrical agents.’ 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 4
    Mexican ace Dos Santos smashed home the third five minutes later after good work from Defoe. September 29, 2011, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport
12. A military aircraft pilot who is credited with shooting down many enemy aircraft, typically five or more.
13. (US) A perfect score on a school exam.
14. Any of various hesperiid butterflies.
15. (physics, obsolete) A quark.

verb

1. (transitive, US, informal) To pass (a test, interviews etc.) perfectly.
2. (transitive, intransitive, US, informal) To defeat (others) in a contest; to outdo (others) in a competition.
3. (transitive, intransitive, tennis) To win a point against (an opponent) by an ace.
4. (golf) To make an ace (hole in one).

adj

1. (UK, slang) Excellent.

Etymology 2

Clipping of asexual.

adj

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

noun

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