ringside seat

Idioms  

1. A place providing a close view of something, as in We lived right next door, so we had ringside seats for their quarrels. This term presumably came from boxing, where it denotes the seats just outside the boxing ring. [c. 1860]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ringside seat

That gives Continental defense contractors a ringside seat to the astonishing innovation that has enabled Ukraine to survive.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

He’d paid for a ringside seat, boasted to all his friends that he’d be “right there” to witness the action and never saw a thing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025

Earl Slick’s "Guitar: Playing with David Bowie, John Lennon, and Rock-and-Roll’s Greatest Heroes" affords readers with a ringside seat for many of popular music’s most iconic moments.

From Salon ● May 31, 2024

After the obligatory post-fight interviews and a warmish embrace with Shields, Marshall was summoned over to a ringside seat by undisputed super-middleweight Franchon Crews-Dezurn.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2023

Maddie said it was like having a ringside seat at the circus.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein