driver's seat
Americannoun
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the seat from which a vehicle is operated.
-
a position of power, dominance, control, or superiority.
After the election the Democrats were back in the driver's seat.
Etymology
Origin of driver's seat
First recorded in 1920–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
T.I. performed his hits “Top Back” and “Let ‘Em Know” sitting atop a car, with his son, King, in the driver’s seat.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its formidable boss, Janno Lieber, who’d cut his teeth rebuilding the World Trade Center site, were now in the driver’s seat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
Kidd landed in Dallas instead and seemed in the driver’s seat for a long ride until the Doncic trade.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
Her rationale is that it puts brands back in the driver’s seat.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
The person in the driver’s seat wore black.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
