backseat

[bak-seet]

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noun

a seat at the rear.

Idioms

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. 2019

Related Words for back seat

lesser, secondary, bottom, backside, back, tail, butt, lower, less, minus, second, subordinate, subsidiary, peon, menial, junior, minor, buttocks, end, reverse

British Dictionary definitions for back seat

back seat

noun

a seat at the back, esp of a vehicle

informal a subordinate or inconspicuous position (esp in the phrase take a back seat)

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

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.