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backseat

[bak-seet]
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noun
  1. a seat at the rear.
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Idioms
  1. take a backseat, to occupy a secondary or inferior position: Her writing has taken a backseat because of other demands on her time.
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Origin of backseat

First recorded in 1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for back seat

back seat

noun
  1. a seat at the back, esp of a vehicle
  2. informal a subordinate or inconspicuous position (esp in the phrase take a back seat)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for back seat

n.

also back-seat, 1832, originally of coaches, from back (adj.) + seat (n.). Used figuratively for "less or least prominent position" by 1868. Back-seat driver first attested 1926.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper