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

“Even within the food program, food chemical issues have largely taken a backseat to more traditional food safety issues, like food pathogens, E. coli and foodborne illness outbreaks.”

From Salon • Apr. 11, 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 used to drive an older Camry and it got to the point where I was crossing ladders through the passenger seat and I popped the spraycan in the backseat.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 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

When we finally got going, we swung by to pick up Twig, who burst into the backseat of the car and greeted us: “We are going to kick butt.”

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller