Skip to main content
PlainSpell

ace

/ˈeɪ̯s/noun, verb, adjective

ace is spelled A-C-E: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Ace, the name). As a noun, ace means “A playing card showing a single pip, typically the highest or lowest ranking card in a game” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ace is aces.

How many letters and syllables are in ace?

Letters3: A-C-E
Syllables1
In writing13 times per million words; the 5,957th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is ace?

Ace appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Ace, the name.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce ace?

  • /ˈeɪ̯s/
  • [ˈeɪ̯s]
  • Australia /ˈæɪ̯s/

Ace has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ace.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ace.wav, En-au-ace.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with ace

Also written: aces.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of ace

  • aces plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • acing participle, present
  • aced participle, past
  • more ace comparative
  • most ace superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does ace mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A playing card showing a single pip, typically the highest or lowest ranking card in a game.

  2. 2

    A die face marked with a single dot, typically representing the number one.

  3. 3

    The ball marked with the number 1 in pool and related games.

  4. 4

    USslangA dollar bill.

  5. 5

    A very small quantity or degree; a particle; an atom; a jot.

  6. 6

    A serve won without the opponent hitting the ball.

  7. 7

    A point won by a single stroke, as in handball, rackets, etc.

  8. 8

    USThe best pitcher on the team.

  9. 9

    slangA person who is asexual.

verb

  1. 1

    USinformalTo pass (a test, interviews etc.) perfectly.

  2. 2

    USinformalTo defeat (others) in a contest; to outdo (others) in a competition.

  3. 3

    To win a point against (an opponent) by an ace.

  4. 4

    To make an ace (hole in one).

adjective

  1. 1

    UKslangExcellent.

  2. 2

    slangAsexual, not experiencing sexual attraction.

    “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.”

noun

as ACE
  1. 1

    A member of American Cinema Editors

  2. 2

    Initialism of angiotensin converting enzyme.

  3. 3

    Initialism of air combat element.

  4. 4

    Initialism of aviation combat element.

  5. 5

    Initialism of analysis and control element.

  6. 6

    Initialism of arbitrary code execution.

  7. 7

    Initialism of access control entry.

  8. 8

    Initialism of ASCII-compatible encoding.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Ace in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchas (single point or spot on a card or die), iota, chouïa (very small quantity or degree), ace (tennis, volleyball: point scored without the…)
Portugueseás (single point or spot on a card or die), ace (tennis, volleyball: point scored without the…), craque (expert), gabaritar (to pass a test perfectly)
Spanishas (single point or spot on a card or die), ace (tennis, volleyball: point scored without the…), bordar (to pass a test perfectly), pitcher experto, lanzador experto (baseball: best pitcher on the team)
GermanAss (card with a single spot)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does ace come from?

Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”), probably borrowed from Etruscan. Doublet of as.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after ace