back seat

noun

variants or less commonly backseat
1
: a seat in the back (as of an automobile)
2
: a secondary or inferior position
… the issues and concerns that have sometimes been given a back seatAl Gore
see also take a back seat

Examples of back seat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Argudo-Tenorio then put the gun back in the passenger window in one of the cars, and then ran back to the Mazda and got in the back seat, prosecutors said. Adam Harrington, CBS News, 23 June 2026 At least one was an infant, asleep in the back seat. Paige Williams, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 Until the situation in Lebanon settles down, talks over Iran’s nuclear program will take a back seat. Jason Ma, Fortune, 21 June 2026 For a few weeks, concerns about skyrocketing housing costs and gentrification, brought on by the city’s increasing popularity as a place to settle down, are taking a back seat to the sheer fun of international soccer. Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for back seat

Word History

First Known Use

1715, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of back seat was in 1715

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Cite this Entry

“Back seat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back%20seat. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.

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