backseat

American  

[bak-seet] / ˈbækˈsit /

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.

Etymology

Origin of backseat

First recorded in 1825–35

Explanation

When you ride in the backseat of a car, you sit in the row of seats behind the driver. Kids sometimes fight over the front seat, not wanting to sit in the backseat. You can travel in the backseat of a automobile, unless you're the driver or are riding in a two-seat sports car. Another way to use the word backseat is to describe "an inferior position." If you take a backseat to your older brother, it means he tends to get all the attention. The word, more commonly written as back seat, was used in the 1800s to talk about riding in coaches and carriages.

Example Sentences

At times their own desires and tastes take a backseat to the demands of others, and Nguyen also captures moments when candid feelings of frustration and ambivalence slip through.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

Entertainment journalist Emma Bullimore agrees backseat car photos draw us in because they take us behind the curtain.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

I had my brother drive me with my sister in the backseat.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

Usually at songbook shows, the vocalists are the focus of our attention, with the musicians, even if they are onstage, as they are here, taking a backseat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Yet as clearly as I remember the heavy silence in the backseat of that car, with Ashley holding four-month-old Adria on her lap, the rest of my foster care memories are fuzzy images.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles