backseat
[bak-seet]
- a seat at the rear.
- take a backseat, to occupy a secondary or inferior position: Her writing has taken a backseat because of other demands on her time.
Origin of backseat
First recorded in 1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for backseat
Contemporary Examples
My mother was sitting in the backseat but that did not stop the driver from trying to touch me.
If I do, I sit in the backseat and stay alert for whatever the driver does.
If it gave people some kind of joy afterwards, great, but everything took a backseat.
Julian Casablancas Enters the Void: On the Strokes’ Friction, Why He Left NYC, and Starting OverMarlow Stern
October 9, 2014
And it involves the U.S. taking a backseat to Iran and Syria.
David Garcia is attempting to make a phone call in the backseat.
Historical Examples
He sat in the backseat of the car, and his hair dragged behind him.
FreeChildrenStories.com CollectionDaniel Errico
The baggage—two trunks, a showman's keyster, two suitcases, a big duffle bag and handbags—was loaded on trailer and backseat.
David Lannarck, MidgetGeorge S. Harney