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Glite Dictionary
within an ace of

within an ace of

8.4
Very nearly achieving something
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : a un paso de
  • You are within an ace of winning.
  • came within an ace of

Examples

  • The team was within an ace of winning the championship, but they lost in the final minutes.

  • He realized he was within an ace of being killed.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Philip Doddridge of Richmond came "within an ace of meeting the dreadful fate of being buried alive" ("Burying Alive 2" 2).

    Academic text (2014)

  • She was within an ace of finishing her book when the power went out.

  • During the final exam, I was within an ace of getting a perfect score.

Synonyms

nearly
vswithin an ace of
∞ 1.0

Almost but not completely

is stronger and more forceful in meaning stressing extreme proximity
near
vswithin an ace of
111 1.0

Almost happening or becoming true

is stronger and stresses a higher degree of completion
on the edge of
vswithin an ace of
20 3.9

Very close to achieving something important

is used more generally not limited to important or major situations
ames ace
vswithin an ace of
  • Informal
9.9

Almost succeeding but failing at the last moment

is neutral in tone stating closeness without implying final failure
within an ace
vswithin an ace of
  • UK
8.8

Almost happening or being done but not yet

is more general and does not focus on negative outcomes

Antonyms

far
∞ 1.0

A long way away in space

distantly
9 3.8

From far away in place, time, or family connection

How Close

within an ace of
  • UK
8.4
imminent
168 4.8
near
240 1.0

Surface Forms

within an ace of positive

Morphology

within + an + ace + of

The structure is partly compositional: 'within' signals being inside a small range and the phrase functions like 'within [a very small unit] of', so a learner who maps 'ace' to a very small margin could infer the meaning. However, using 'ace' as a measure is metaphorical and idiomatic (not a standard, cross-linguistic measure), so the sense is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who simply knows the individual words.

Etymology

Within an ace of may come from old card games, where an ace was worth a single point. If you were only an ace away from winning, you were just short of victory, so 'within an ace of' means 'very nearly' succeeding.