within an ace of
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
LESTER Piggott and three other jockeys came within an ace of death yesterday when an RAF jet missed their plane by just six feet.
Once, I came within an ace of the end
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “within an ace of” mean?
Very close to.
Is “within an ace of” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.